National Mortgage Professional Magazine May 2018

MORTGAGE NEWS NETWORK INC. 1220 WANTAGH AVENUE WANTAGH, NEW YORK 11793

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MORTGAGE NEWS NETWORK INC.

BANK STATEMENTS TO $2,500,000 • 5000-ELITE-12BS - 700 Min FICO – 12 Mo. Personal / Business Statements up to 70% LTV – Starting at 4.875%* • 5000-12BS PLUS - 680 Min FICO – 12 Mo. Personal / Business Statements up to 80% LTV – Starting at 5.5%* • 5000-ELITE-24BS - 700 Min FICO – 24 Mo. Personal / Business Statements up to 70% LTV – Starting at 4.875%* • 5000-24BS - 660 Min FICO – 24 Mo. Personal / Business Statements up to 90% LTV – Starting at 5.625%* • 5000-24BS-NP - 580 Min FICO – 24 Mo. Personal / Business Statements up to 80% LTV – Starting at 6.25%*

NON-PRIME FULL DOC TO $2,500,000 • 5000-ELITE-FD - 680 Min FICO – 5 Yrs BK, 5 Yrs Short Sale /Foreclosure up to 85% LTV– Starting at 4.75%* • 5000-NP - 600 Min FICO – 2 Yr BK, 2 Yr Short Sale /Foreclosure up to 90% LTV– Starting at 5.625%* • 5000-RH - 500 Min FICO – 1 Yr BK, 1 DAY Short Sale /Foreclosure up to 80% LTV – Starting at 6.25%*

INVESTOR - NO INCOME LOANS TO $2,000,000 • 5000-INV-PP - 640 Min FICO – No Income/No Employment/No Reserves Up to 75% LTV – Starting at 7.25%* • 5000-INV-DTI-PP - 620 Min FICO – No Employment/No Reserves/Qualify on Rental Survey Up to 80% LTV – Starting at 6.875%* • 5000-INV-FN-PP - Foreign National Borrower – No FICO/No Income/No Employment/No Reserves Up to 70% LTV – Starting at 7.25%* • 5000-INV-DTI-FN - Foreign National Borrower – No FICO/No Employment/No Reserves/Qualify on Rental Survey Up to 70% LTV – Starting at 6.875%*

NEAR PRIME FULL DOC TO $2,000,000 • 5000-1YR TAX - 620 Min FICO – 5 Yrs BK, 5 Yrs Short Sale /Foreclosure up to 85% LTV – Starting at 5.75%*

FOREIGN NATIONAL FULL DOC TO $2,000,000 • 5000-FN - No FICO – Income Docs up to 70% LTV – Starting at 6.25%*

ITIN FULL DOC TO $600,000 • 5000-ITIN - No FICO – Full Doc up to 90% LTV - Starting at 7.5%*

ASSET DEPLETION FULL DOC TO $1,000,000 • 5000-AU - 680 Min FICO – Full Doc up to 75% LTV - Starting at 5.75%*

Interest Only Option

Exceptions

Non-Warrantable Condos

1-4 Units

Wholesale-Correspondent

www.GreenBoxLoans.com (800) 490-2274 Wholesaleinfo@greenboxloans.com

Gbox Licenses: BRE#01300944, DBO# 603L516, AZ#0919899, CA#333659, CO#333659, CT#MCL-333659, DE#29707, FL#MLD886, GA#33937, ID#MBL-7961, IL#MB.6760993, LA#333659, MD#21707, MI#FL0018821, MS#333659, NJ#333659, NC#L-156181, OH#MBMB.850183.000, OK#ML010327, OR#ML-5093, PA#48972, TX#333659, VA#MC-6781, WA#CL-333659 This information is meant for Real Estate and mortgage professionals ONLY and is not to be provided to consumers. All products are not available in all States.

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table of N A T I O N A L

NMP Mortgage Professional of the Month: Kyle Gunderlock, President and COO, Citadel Servicing Corporation

By Phil Hall

M A Y

2 0 1 8

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M O R T G

V O L U M

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “IT’S ALL ABOUT MARKETING”

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Rules of Engagement: Making the Most of Your Social Media Presence By Deborah Speed & Connor Snyder............................52

The Mortgage Godfather: “No” Is No Way to Go

By Ralph LoVuolo Sr.

Why a Negative Review Can Be a Marketing Opportunity

By Andrea Obston ......................................................................................58

30 The DIY Performance Review for Mortgage Professionals

By Bubba Mills

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The Self-Promoter: Marketing Strategies to Help You Stand Out in a Crowded Market By Casey Cunningham..........................................56

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How to Get Quality Mortgage Borrowers Calling You From Facebook Advertising By Chris Johnstone..............................................62

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Baby Boomer vs. Millennial: A Tale of Two Generations of Mortgage Marketing By Betsy Boggia & Marina Kowaleski ..............64

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Five Mortgage Marketing Tips to Help Loan Officers Win

By Raymond Bartreau ................................................................................66

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The Importance of Strategic Partnerships By Erica LaCentra ..............68

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Five Practical Tips to Get Old-School Professionals on the Digital Marketing Track By Tuan Pham ............................................70

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Personal Branding is Great, But Lenders Need Guardrails

By Joe Welu................................................................................................75

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The Intersection of Social Media & Mortgage Professionals

By Michael Lewis........................................................................................76

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Combine Direct Mail and Digital Marketing Campaigns for Maximum Response By Michelle B. Peel ..........................................78

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Validating Referral Marketing By Tom Pasckvale ..................................80

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Social Media and Its Connection to the Customer and the Community By Andrew Smith ............................................................81

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Leveraging Today’s Digital Mortgage: Using SEO to Close More Loans By Kelcey Brown ..................................................................82

32 NMP’s Legends of Lending: Angel Oak Companies

By Phil Hall

V I S I T Company

Web Site

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Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions ............................ www.angeloakms.com ......................................Back Cover Athas Capital Group .......................................... www.athascapital.com ....................................................5 Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................17 Caliber Home Loans.............................................. www.caliberwholesale.com ................................................9 CAMP .................................................................. www.thecampsite.org/summer-camp-2018 ........................68 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................19 & 60 Citadel Servicing Corporation .............................. www.citadelservicing.com ................................................5

48 The Mortgage Industry Tiptoes into Blockchain Applications

By Phil Hall

DocMagic .......................................................... www.docmagic.com ........................................................7 FAMP ................................................................ www.ourfamp.org/convention.php ..................................62 Greenbox Loans, Inc........................................... www.greenboxloans.com ..............................................IFC Hometown Lenders ............................................ www.hometownbranch.com ..........................................11 Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................65

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MBS Highway .................................................... www.mbshighway.com/MNN ..........................................71

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FEATURES

ARMCP Nears Launch................................................................................6 Non-Agency Loans Are “Prime” in All But Name By Tom Hutchens......8 The Elite Performer By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ........................................8 Recruiting, Training and Mentoring Corner By Dave Hershman ..........10 The New Age of Monitoring and Marketing By Scott Harris ................16

Next Level Marketing ..............................................................................18 States Signal Increased Protection Efforts as CFPB Pulls Back

By Gavin T. Ales ........................................................................................20 NAMB Perspective....................................................................................22 Facebook Bots Are Back! By Chris Johnstone ......................................25 BrokerNATION By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ..............................................36 ScalaBOOTY By Eric Weinstein ................................................................38

We are once again looking for the Most Connected Mortgage Professionals. These are individuals who have a large number of followers on Twitter or likes on Facebook or maybe have a very popular blog or video show. These individuals will be featured in our July 2018 edition, which has a special focus on Social Media.

Five Free Ways to Generate New Business Instantly

By Brian Sacks ..........................................................................................40 Addressing Post-Housing Crisis Issues By Pam Marron ......................42 If You Teach Them, They Will Lead By Michael Cooksey ......................46

COLUMNS New to Market...................................................................................12 News Flash: May 2018 ......................................................................14 Heard on the Street...........................................................................34 Outstanding Places to Work.............................................................84 NMP Calendar of Events...................................................................85 NMP Resource Registry....................................................................86

A D V E R T I S E R S Company

Web Site

Page

Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ............................44 & 45 NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................21 NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................64 & 79 NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................83 New American Funding ...................................... www.newamericanfunding.com ......................................88 NMP U .............................................................. www.nmpucoaching.com ..................................59, 67 & 73 NRMLA.............................................................. www.nrmlaonline.org ....................................................72 OSI Express........................................................ www.osiexpress.com/mlslink ............................................1 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................13, 57 & Inside Back Cover REMN................................................................ www.remnwholesale.com ..............................................15 Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................... www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................63 TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................61 The Bond Exchange............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................69

Go to http://nmpmag.com/mostconnected

MAY 2018 Volume 10 • Number 5

FROM THE

publisher’s desk

Making marketing magic They say nothing happens in business until someone sells something. Every successful executive 1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 working in our industry today knows this. Whether we are selling a first-time homebuyer on our Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 ability to help them get financing or selling a real estate agent on why we are the perfect partner for Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com them, sales is a critical part of the work we do as mortgage professionals.

STAFF Eric C. Peck Joel M. Berman But before we can sell anything, we have to do the often difficult work of marketing. Students Editor-in-Chief Publisher - CEO (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 (516) 409-5555, ext. 310 often have a hard time separating sales from marketing. It’s not always easy to see. In fact, the ericp@mortgagenewsnetwork.com joel@mortgagenewsnetwork.com most common definition of marketing actually includes sales: “The action or business of promoting Joey Arendt Beverly Bolnick and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.” It can be confusing, Art Director VP-Sales & Marketing (516) 409-5555, ext. 323 (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 but when done well, it can look like magic. joeya@mortgagenewsnetwork.com beverlyb@mortgagenewsnetwork.com This month, we focus on what it means to excel at marketing in our industry, but first, I want to Scott Koondel Phil Hall VP of Operations Managing Editor tell you about a few special features in this May edition.

(516) 409-5555, ext. 324 (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 First, Andy W. Harris launches a new column in this issue. You know him from his popular scottk@mortgagenewsnetwork.com philh@mortgagenewsnetwork.com “OrigiNATION” column. In this issue, Andy starts down a new path that he calls “BrokerNATION,” a Richard Zyta Francine Miller Social Media Ambassador Advertising Coordinator new series of articles and interviews with independent Mortgage Brokers. This new monthly piece (516) 409-5555 (516) 409-5555, ext. 301 richardz@mortgagenewsnetwork.com francinem@mortgagenewsnetwork.com will cover a variety of topics all around the wholesale lending channel and independent origination Rick Grant Dylan Pollock in the primary mortgage market today.

Special Reports Editor Administrative Assistant In our Legends of Lending feature, we profile Angel Oak on page 32, as Phil Hall gives us a (570) 497-1026 (direct) (516) 409-5555, ext. 314 (516) 409-555, ext. 311 dylanp@mortgagenewsnetwork.com deeper look into the company by interviewing five execs. Atlanta-based Angel Oak just celebrated rickg@mortgagenewsnetwork.com its 10-year anniversary and originated more than $1.1 billion in non-QM mortgages in 2017.

ADVERTISING To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contact Finally, lest we forget that effective sales and marketing does not end when the application is VP-Sales & Marketing Beverly Bolnick at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyb@mortgagereceived. We focus on the servicing side in our profile of NMP’s Mortgage Professional of the newsnetwork.com.

Month, Kyle Gunderlock, President and Chief Operating Officer at Citadel Servicing Corporation, ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS/PRESS RELEASES To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please contact Editor-in-Chief Eric C. Peck beginning on page 26. at (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 or e-mail ericp@mortgagenewsnetwork.com. The deadline for submissions But now … back to marketing. Effective marketing involves both identifying the market your is the first of the month prior to the target issue. company should be serving and proving to that market that you are the preferred partner. In this SUBSCRIPTIONS To receive subscription information, please call (516) 409-5555, ext. 301; e-mail orders@mortgageissue we’ll give you all of the information you need to master both sides of the marketing equation. newsnetwork.com or visit www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com. Any subscription changes may be made to the attention of “Circulation” via fax to (516) 409-4600.

We start with a great lineup of articles focusing on key marketing concepts. I consider these the Statements, articles and opinions in National Mortgage Professional Magazine are the responsibility of the basic blocking and tackling skills you need to succeed, but you’ll find nothing basic about these authors alone and do not imply the opinion or endorsement of Mortgage News Network Inc., or the offigreat pieces. Consider starting with “The Importance of Strategic Partnerships” from Erica cers or members of National Association of Mortgage Brokers and its State Affiliates (NAMB), National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW), National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) LaCentra, Director of Marketing at RCN Capital. Then read “Combine Direct Mail and Digital and/or other state mortgage trade associations.

Participation in NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations events, activMarketing Campaigns for Maximum Response,” by Michelle B. Peel, Marketing and Corporate ities and/or publications is available on a non-discriminatory basis and does not reflect the endorsement Communications Manager at IWCO Direct. of the product and/or services by Mortgage News Network Inc., NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and other state mortgage trade associations.

Our material isn’t just focused on supporting the C-suite. If you’re a working Loan Officer, don’t National Mortgage Professional Magazine, NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage miss “Five Mortgage Marketing Tips to Help Loan Officers Win” from Raymond Bartreau, Founder trade associations do not make any misrepresentations or warranties concerning the regulatory and/or compliance aspects of advertisers, products or services and/or the editorial content contained in Mortgage and SVP of Lending Partnerships for Best Rate Referrals, and “The Self-Promoter: Marketing News Network Inc. publications. National Mortgage Professional Magazine and Mortgage News Network Inc. reserve the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

Strategies to Help You Stand Out in a Crowded Market” by Casey Cunningham, CEO and Founder of XINNIX. But also check out “Personal Branding is Great, But Lenders Need Guardrails” by Joe Welu, Founder and CEO of Total Expert for a quick reality check.

Many are wondering today whether they should go all in on the new Millennial borrower or continue to support the Baby Boomer crowd they probably built their business around. For really focused firms, it could come down to a one or the other decision. For help, read “Baby Boomer vs. Millennial: A Tale of Two Generations of Mortgage Marketing” by Betsy Boggia, New England Regional Marketing Director at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation & Marina Kowaleski, Digital Marketing Specialist for Fairway Independent Mortgage’s New England Region.

No marketing section would be complete without a detailed exploration of social media marketing. This is the Wild West of the marketing world, and while there are risks here, there is also a lot of opportunity. To help you navigate these waters, we offer a number of great articles this month.

Start with “Social Media and Its Connection to the Customer and the Community” by Andrew Smith, CEO of Towne Mortgage Company. Then read “The Intersection of Social Media & Mortgage Professionals” by Michael Lewis, retired business executive and personal finance columnist.

Then, for more specifics, see “How to Get Quality Mortgage Borrowers Calling You From Facebook Advertising” by Chris Johnstone, CEO of Connection Inc. and “Rules of Engagement: Making the Most of Your Social Media Presence” by Deborah Speed, Marketing Communications and Public Relations Manager and Connor Snyder, Social Media Strategist for Castle & Cooke Mortgage.

And finally, we get to what is fast-becoming the marketing battlefield for this industry, the digital realm. We offer “Leveraging Today’s Digital Mortgage: Using SEO to Close More Loans” by Kelcey Brown, Chief Strategy Officer and EVP at WebMax and “Five Practical Tips to Get Old-School Professionals on the Digital Marketing Track” by Tuan Pham, SVP, Head of Marketing at CoreVest Finance.

Taking our business online has resulted in some real marketing benefits, not just from our own social media efforts, but also from those of our customers. Online reviews and recommendations can mean more work. They can also lead to problems in the form of bad reviews. Turn those into opportunities by reading “Why a Negative Review Can Be a Marketing Opportunity” by Andrea Obston, President of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications. Then, get more business by reading “Validating Referral Marketing” by Tom Pasckvale, Managing Partner at Top Vine Mortgage.

Marketing done right looks like magic and it makes sales, whether you define that as another loan application in the pipeline, another closed loan or another excited business referral partner, much easier to accomplish. It is our hope that this issue will benefit you in your marketing efforts.

Sincerely,

Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEO Mortgage News Network Inc. Joel@MortgageNewsNetwork.com

National Mortgage Professional Magazine is published monthly by Mortgage News Network Inc. • Copyright © 2018 Mortgage News Network Inc.

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NAMB 601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, South Building l Washington, D.C. 20004 l Phone: (202) 434-8250 l Fax: (530) 484-2906 l Web site: NAMB.org l E-mail: Membership@NAMB.org

NAMB 2017-2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS E X E C U T I V E

John G. Stevens, CRMS President JohnGStevens@NAMB.org

Richard Bettencourt, CRMS President-Elect Rick.Bettencourt@NAMB.org

Nathan S. Pierce, CRMS Vice President Nathan.Pierce@NAMB.org

B O A R D

Michelle Velez, CMC Secretary Michelle.Velez@NAMB.org

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS Treasurer Rocke.Andrews@NAMB.org

Fred Kreger, CMC Immediate Past President Fred.Kreger@NAMB.org

D I R E C T O R S

Linda McCoy, CMRS Linda.McCoy@NAMB.org

Chris Bettis, CMC, CRMS Chris.Bettis@NAMB.org

Wayne King, CMC, CRMS Wayne.King@NAMB.org

Michael DeSantis Mike.DeSantis@NAMB.org

George Burkley, CRMS George.Burkley@NAMB.org

Valerie J. Saunders, CRMS Executive Director ValSaun@NAMB.org

Harry H. Dinham, CMC Chief Operating Officer HDinham@NAMB.org

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Olga.Kucerak@NAMB.org

National Association of Professional Mortgage Women 345 North Main Street, Suite 313 l West Hartford, CT 06117 l Phone: (800) 827-3034 l E-mail: NAPMW1@NAPMW.org l Web site: NAPMW.org

2017-2018 NAPMW NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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Cathy Kantrowitz National President (845) 463-3011 President@NAPMW.org

Laurel Knight President-Elect (425) 426-2028 PresElect@NAPMW.org

Susan Kerr Vice President (703) 871-1310 NVP1@NAPMW.org

Glenda Mooney Secretary (314) 703-8714 NatSecretary@NAPMW.org

Judy Alderson Treasurer (918) 250-9080, ext. 300 NatTreasurer@NAPMW.org

Lynne Sparks Parliamentarian (678) 872-9000, ext. 10611 LSparks@SKWRLaw.com

National Consumer Reporting Association 701 East Irving Park Road, Suite 306 l Roselle, IL 60172 l Phone: (630) 539-1525 l Fax: (630) 539-1526 l Web site: NCRAINC.org

2017-2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Paul Wohkittel President (410) 644-5020 PWohkittel@CISInfo.net

Mary Campbell Vice President (701) 239-9977 Mary@AdvantageCreditBureau.com

Julie Wink Ex-Officio (901) 259-5105 Julie@DataFacts.com

William Bower Director (800) 288-4757 WBower@Continfo.com

Janet Curtis Director (210) 224-6121 JCurtis@SARMA.com

Maureen Devine Director (413) 736-4511 MDevine@StrategicInfo.com

Gary Glucroft Director (800) 877-3908, ext. 100 GaryG@TheScreeningPros.com

Brian McKinney Director (706) 373-2200 McKinney@MCBUSA.com

Helen Meyers Director (800) 782-9094 Helen@CreditInfoSystems.com

Mike Thomas Director (615) 386-2285, ext. 285 MThomas@CICCredit.com

Debbie Ysebeart Director (425) 264-1024 Debbie@Alliance2020.com

Delia Zuniga Director (623) 889-8999 Delia@AdvantagePlusCredit.com

Terry Clemans Executive Director (630) 539-1525 TClemans@NCRAInc.org

Jan Gerber Office Manager/Member Services (630) 539-1525 JGerber@ NCRAInc.org

ARMCP Nears Launch As Association of Residential Mortgage Compliance Professionals (ARMCP) now consists of 1,600 members, the association is closer than ever to launching its new Web site. This will be a state-of-the-art Web site designed specifically to fulfill the needs of residential mortgage compliance professionals.

Recently, ARMCP announced the formation of a pre-launch Web site Committee to put the finishing touches on the new site.

ARMCP is a national organization devoted exclusively to residential mortgage compliance professionals. The association’s membership consists solely of those members who have joined on their own, one at a time, and were not solicited to join via solicitations from news lists or magazine subscriptions. ARMCP’s independence is the key to the value of its advocacy!

If you would like to refer an individual for membership, please visit ARMCP’s LinkedIn group or e-mail Info@ARMCP.org for an invitation.

There is no cost for membership, and new members are welcome. For more information, e-mail Info@ARMCP.org.

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Non-Agency Loans Are “Prime” in All But Name

By Tom Hutchens

Since starting this column, I have focused on two themes: 1. Today’s non-QM borrowers are as reliable and desirable as any market segment; and 2. Non-QM loans offer tremendous upside for growth-driven originators.

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ecent statistics prove my positions with startling clarity. The first statement is critical because confusion about non-QM loans keeps many originators on the sidelines. These are not high-risk loans like the old sub-prime products.

In its latest U.S. RMBS Monthly Update on the non-QM sector, Fitch Ratings reported that, “Of the $4.3 billion and roughly 11,000 loans securitized since 2015 where loan-level performance data is publicly available, only eight loans have entered foreclosure.”

No typos! Of the non-QM loans followed by Fitch, one in every 1,375 (or .007 percent) have failed. While foreclosure rates across the board are down, in 2017, Consumer Affairs reporter James Limbach, citing CoreLogic data, wrote that “The national foreclosure inventory included approximately 329,000 or 0.8 percent of all homes with a mortgage.”

I emphasize that before mentioning the potential for originators to grow and profit because it shows that the clear majority of non-QM borrowers are just as able to repay as computer-qualified QM loan customers.

Regarding growth and profitability, according to Mike Fratantoni, Chief Economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), non-QM volume will double in 2018. Even at that pace, originators who offer these products have an open playing field. Despite growing by 40 percent in 2017, non-QM loans still account for only three percent of the residential mortgage market. Millions of self-employed consumers, retirees and people who have had credit events are unable to qualify for agency loans. They often do not know that alternative mortgages are available.

This is a tremendous arena for Loan Officers who want to help deserving borrowers and enjoy great personal success.

You have a head start in a market that is only now being recognized as attractive and sustainable. You can represent credible lenders whose ability to manually underwrite your work product is often superior to the automated, one-size-fits all standards of today’s agency lenders. And, because you are specializing in diverse, manually underwritten products, your commissions can easily exceed those generated by most originators.

To start, talk to your Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions Account Executive and explore the resources on our Web site (AngelOakMS.com). We have a game plan for helping you identify and engage customers. We pioneered non-QM lending in 2013 and have been the industry leader ever since.

We are at the forefront of exponential growth and encourage you to join us.

Tom Hutchens is Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, an Atlanta-based wholesale and correspondent lender leading the non-QM space for four years and licensed in over 35 states. Tom has been in the real estate lending business for nearly 20 years. He may be reached by phone at (855) 539-4910 or e-mail Info@AngelOakMS.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

the

elite performer Stop Worrying What Others Think

BY ANDY W. HARRIS, CRMS

s humans, I believe we’re engrained to seek the approval of others from childhood up through adulthood. This could be originally derived by parents, teachers and others that impact our youth by us showing the ability to obey and our desires to be recognized. Wanting to be liked by others is a clear human trait, but it’s important that we also recognize that there are many times we should not seek any approval nor care or worry about what others think.

So, if you’re an entrepreneur, it’s important to consider “who” you should listen to. Customers and clients come first on that list. Not only should you listen to those who directly produce revenue, but seek information based off their experiences, constructive criticism, positive feedback, etc. Make the necessary changes to improve based off this feedback, but never take suggestions personally or go down any negative path of self-judgment. Build and grow by it, but don’t worry about it.

You also need to consider who “not” to listen to or worry about.

This would be your competition or any business affiliate, colleague, etc. that tries to bring you down in any negative fashion. As they say, “Haters gonna hate” and there is no changing that mentality. Don’t waste your time or worry about what you cannot control, but instead, focus on what you can control. When you focus on your agenda and not those of others, it can be very freeing.

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“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

—Dr. Seuss

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is President and Owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and Past President of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 4960431, e-mail AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com or visit VantageMortgageGroup.com.

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We call it Caliber Reconnect.

We deliver timely alerts when a shared borrower has a high likelihood to purchase or refinance, based on proprietary criteria.

No fees. No obligations. Just more business for YOU. Caliber knows when to reconnect, and we’re sharing this with our brokers. You’re never under any obligation to send any new purchase or refinance loans to Caliber, but we’re confident you’ll keep us in mind when

To learn more about Caliber Reconnect, contact caliberreconnect@caliberhomeloans.com or visit us at www.caliberwholesale.com.

Wholesale Lending

Caliber Home Loans, Inc., 1525 S. Beltline Rd., Coppell, TX 75019 (NMLS #15622). 1-800-401-6587. Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing Lender. For real estate and lending professionals only and not for distribution to consumers. # 21890_NMP

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How Caliber Reconnect works

Recruiting, Training and Mentoring Corner

How is Your Marketing Support?

BY DAVE HERSHMAN

he key to attracting and retaining good Loan Officers is the provision of support levels that differentiate you from the competition. Yes, price and commission plans are important. Yet, just as your Loan Officers face the “rate” question every day and, to be effective, talk about the importance of other factors— you must do the same for your sales force recruiting and support. Of course, the next question is—what constitutes support? Here are some important aspects of support aside from rate and commissions:

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l Service is always important.

In the case of a Loan Officer that means getting loans closed quickly and effectively. l The provision of a robust product line so that the Loan Officer can service the vast majority of their clients. l Technology support, including digital mortgages, mobile apps and more. l Marketing and sales support.

Since the topic of this issue is marketing, we will focus upon the issue of marketing support.

First, we must distinguish the terms sales and marketing, as they are often stated together as if they are one term. What is the difference? l Marketing actually creates leads.

l Sales skills enables your Loan Officers to convert these leads into applications.

It would not be unusual for a mortgage company to provide sales training for their Loan Officers. And this would be essential for any company that provides leads to their Loan Officers. However, marketing training is often overlooked in the equation. Yet, it is marketing that determines not only how many leads come in, but also how strong the leads are.

Think about converting a cold call versus a strong referral.

How much easier is it to convert a strong referral? Perhaps a hundred times easier. Well, it is marketing that determines whether you are getting referrals vs. cold calls. Again, a company that provides leads is typically providing cold leads. But even in this case, with the right marketing skills, the leads that are converted, and even some that are not, could be generating referrals.

That leads to the question: What type of marketing support can you be giving your Loan Officer staff? With marketing, the amount of support you could be delivering is quite extensive. Here are some examples: l Marketing training/coaching: Every day, a Loan Officer on the street is marketing. Are they doing so effectively? For example, most Loan Officers

claim they don’t have time to market because they are busy closing loans. But, do they have training and systems in place to produce referrals from the pipeline which is right under their nose? l Technology: With the evolution of technology, the possibilities for marketing support are quite vast.

Technology to support marketing includes Web sites, CRMs, customer survey systems, social media marketing systems, mobile apps, and more. Most companies cannot afford to provide every alternative, so choosing the technologies they will get behind is very important. And when we use the term “afford,” we just don’t mean dollar-wise. Each system requires labor resources for implementation in order to achieve real value. You can add to these required resources the need to monitor for compliance as well. Nothing is more

ineffective than paying for technology, and then not using it to its full advantage. For example, having a social media marketing system, but not the content to make it effective. l Company branding: When Loan Officers are out there marketing every day, their job is made that much easier when they are doing so under a company brand that is not only distinctive, but also positive in the eyes of consumers and referral sources.

You can see that the possibilities for marketing support can be quite extensive. The determination of where to expend a company’s resources can be crucial in this regard. Not providing support or providing the wrong type of support can be devastating. If you are running a branch, region or company and you need some advice in this regard, feel free to e-mail me at Dave@HershmanGroup.com at any time.

Dave Hershman is a top Author in this industry, with seven books published, as well as the Founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and the OriginationPro’s online comprehensive mortgage school. Dave is also Director of Branch Support for McLean Mortgage. He may be reached by e-mail at Dave@HershmanGroup.com or visit OriginationPro.com.

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Branch Support B R Response Time 17 Minutes

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Underwriting Conditions Reviewed 5 Hours, 43 Minutes

. It’s providing them the tools and resources to doub ble their purchase business so they can retire early. It’s celebr c ating wins as a team instead of competing against each other. It’s giving them the support they dese erve, and so much more. + Underwriting U d i i in i Minutes Mi and d Hou H urs, not D Days and d Week ks!! + Turnkey Marketing Plans along with w Implementation Support + Get Paid Every Week - After t Your o r Loans Close! + In-house construction-permanen nt loan product. + Personalized Growth Plan and Team Support + FHA / VA / Conventional / Rural Development D / Jumbo + 203K / No-Appraisal IRRRLS and Streamlines

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newtomarket PRMG Launches the PRMG Plus Down Payment Protection Program

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Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) has announced the launch of its PRMG Plus Down Payment Protection program.

Where title insurance, private mortgage insurance and homeowner’s insurance each make lending more secure for the lenders, only PRMG Plus covers borrowers regardless of what happens in the housing market.

“PRMG understands that buying a home can be a big step for any borrower and that it takes a long time for a borrower to accumulate the necessary downpayment to buy a home,” said Lara Rausch, PRMG Vice President of Products and Training. “As such, we are pleased to be able to offer PRMG +Plus to them. This is just one more way PRMG looks out for our borrowers, by providing them with the option to protect their initial downpayment should they not be able to recoup it when they sell.

This option gives them peace of mind as they invest into their new home, knowing that their downpayment is safe, regardless of what happens in the housing market.”

Lending in 47 states and a Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae seller/servicer, PRMG has more than 138 branches across the U.S. “PRMG is committed to delivering innovative products that build customer confidence, no matter how volatile the market,” said Joe Melendez, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of ValueInsured, which provides +Plus Down Payment Protection.

“This is an important time for homebuyers who want to buy a home, as well as the industry, as

we continue to regain our footing from the market shake up. We are proud to partner with a company that is a part of the new landscape and has industry-leading customer service.”

TMS Introduces New Digital Servicing App

TMS has introduced its new mobile application to provide a total homeownership experience to its customers. TMS Happinest Mobile, the name of the SIME app, paves way for a new type of dynamic relationship between a homeowner and their servicer. Whichever way they connect, whether it’s online, by phone, or through messaging, the new mobile app allows members to directly get in touch with TMS on their schedule and in the way they prefer to be communicated with.

In version 1.0 of the app, members can access their account, see statements and transaction histories and pay their mortgage.

Additionally, they can upload and submit documents for their loan directly from their mobile phone.

TMS plans to roll out updates throughout the year, with version 2.0 and 3.0 adding new features.

“We have a vision that customers should be able to interact and communicate with us in all imaginable ways as it relates to homeownership, and this app is the centerpiece for that,” said TMS President Ali Vafai. “From this vision and foundation, we built an app that can meet our customers on their terms and equip them with the tools and resources they need for a happy homeownership experience.”

Through TMS Happinest Mobile, members can manage their alerts, follow their transactions, decide to go paperless, check their taxes, insurance and escrow information and much more.

They can even easily opt into paying down more on their mortgage thanks to the app’s user-friendly design.

The upload feature on the app allows members to submit documents for servicing their loan straight from their mobile device, which includes documents for loss mitigation, proof of insurance and anything else. They can either take a picture of the document from their mobile device or select it from their files, making it easier than ever to connect with our expert team members.

“We want to set the new standard for how borrowers should be digitally communicated with for the life of their loan and make it a joyful experience well beyond the closing table,” said Vafai. “This latest tech installment comes on the heels of our total homeownership platform Happinest and proves to our members that we will stand by our promise to Grow Happiness through game-changing technology and outstanding customer service.”

line on non-prime loans to help underserved borrowers with home purchases or refinancing.

The Anaheim, Calif.-based company’s new non-agency loan products is being aimed at consumers with lower credit scores, high debt-to-income ratios, who are self-employed or who experienced a recent credit event that makes them ineligible for conventional or government loan products. The loans are designed for borrowers with credit scores down to 500 and will be originated in loan amounts up to $1.5 million and cash-out up to $500,000. Single-family homes, town houses and condos are covered by these loans.

“We’d like to be the lender of choice for otherwise qualified borrowers who have less than perfect credit scores, and for the real estate agents and mortgage brokers who work with them,” said Ray Brousseau, President of Carrington Mortgage Services.

“We believe there are millions of Americans who historically would have been able to qualify for a loan, but simply haven’t been able to get one since the Great Recession. And we believe they deserve a chance to achieve the dream of homeownership.”

Carrington Mortgage Services Expands Non-Prime Line

Ellie Mae Launches Encompass Version 18.2

Carrington Mortgage Services has introduced a proprietary

Ellie Mae has launched a new major release of its Encompass digital mortgage solution, Encompass 18.2 designed to help lenders of all sizes originate more loans, lower origination costs and shorten the time to close with

compliance, efficiency and quality. Encompass 18.2 includes compliance updates related to Know Before You Owe (KBYO) and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), and Construction Workflow and Correspondent Trades. Ellie Mae also announced plans for new innovative Encompass TPO Connect functionality that will be available later this month.

“Our mission is to provide complete digital mortgage technology to help our customers succeed by enabling them to close more loans by increasing efficiencies, reduce the time to close by offering intelligent automation and reducing the cost to originate,” said Jonathan Corr, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ellie Mae. “With the 18.2 major release of Encompass, we are providing expanded support and new capabilities to improve efficiency, transparency and workflow automation while offering the quality and compliance synonymous with the Ellie Mae name. Additionally, by offering an array of new functionality to Encompass TPO Connect, we’re helping our third-party originators be more productive while growing their businesses.”

Referrals. “Increasingly consumers are tapping into personal loans to tackle big ticket projects and consolidate debt. From paying medical bills to financing a dream vacation, Loan Advisor offers borrowers a free and easy-to-use platform to shop rates and get an approval in one day.”

LoanAdvisor.com will serve as a one-stop shop to match consumers with lenders that best meet their financing needs for loans. Borrowers can connect with lenders to compare rates and choose the best loan. Loan Advisor

displays offers for consumers with varying credit scores for amounts up to $35,000, and with approvals in as little as one day.

Similar to its sister site, Mortgage Advisor, Loan Advisor will also offer of informational resources, rate comparisons and lender information.

AFR to Offer Downpayment Assistance to Military and First Responders

American Financial Resources

(AFR) has announced a nationwide downpayment assistance program geared toward first responders, military personnel and educators.

AFR’s The Advantage Program (TAP) will minimize closing costs and assist in the downpayment for homebuyers.

The grants and assistance program is also available to first-time homebuyers, medical personnel, civil servants and residents of low- to moderateincome communities. TAP offers continued on page 18

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Best Rate Referrals Launches Personal Finance Marketplace NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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Best Rate Referrals has announced it is expanding into the world of personal finance with the launch of Loan Advisor, an online marketplace designed to provide consumers with simple and fast personal loan quotes from lenders for free.

According to TransUnion’s Q4 2017 Industry Insights Report on the consumer credit market, there are more than 18 million personal loans in the U.S., which constitutes a 40 percent increase compared to 2014 levels.

“Growth in the personal lending space continues to show positive trends so the Best Rate Referrals team saw an opportunity to provide a different solution for consumers looking for financing beyond a mortgage loan with a platform that is also beneficial to the consumer finance community,” said Raymond Bartreau, Senior Vice President of Lending Partnerships at Best Rate

WSFLASH y MAY 2018 y NMP NEWSFLASH y MAY 2018 y NMP NEWSFLASH y MAY 2018 y NMP NEWS

MBA Opens Doors Helps 2,000-Plus Families Nationwide

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The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Opens Doors Foundation has announced that it has surpassed a milestone, having provided mortgage or rental payment assistance grants to more than 2,000 families across the country. The grants are made to families with critically ill or injured children, allowing parents and guardians to be by a child’s side during treatment, without fear of jeopardizing their home.

“Due to the generosity of MBA members and the efforts of social workers in our network of hospitals, we are thrilled to have helped more than 2,000 families in more than 40 states with housing payment support during a time of crisis,” said Debra W. Still, CMB, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pulte Mortgage and Chairman of MBA Opens Doors.

“This kind of national reach with local impact has made a meaningful difference for families with children who are literally in the fight of their lives.”

Through the generosity of MBA, the Foundation passes on 100 percent of the donations it receives to families in need of assistance.

Potential recipients of the grants are identified through the Foundation’s ongoing relationships with nine children’s hospitals in Washington, D.C.; Boston (two); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Denver;

Houston; Northern and Southern California; and Akron, Ohio.

“This milestone is worthy of celebration, but it also underscores the big task we have ahead of us.

In the first five years of the Foundation’s existence, we helped 1,000 families and in less than a year later we’ve doubled that number,” said Deborah Dubois, President of MBA Opens Doors.

“We are working really hard to make sure that as the need grows, we’re there to support it.”

Democratic Sens. Author Report Blasting CFPB Response to Equifax Breach

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is leading a trio of Democratic senators in documenting what they claim to be “the first comprehensive review of consumer complaints in the wake of the 2017 Equifax breach,” adding criticism of how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has allegedly responded.

Warren, joined by her Senate Banking Committee colleagues Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, published “Breach of Trust: CFPB’s Complaint Database Shows Consumers Need Help After

Equifax Breach,” a 12-page report that claimed the CFPB received more than 20,000 complaints from consumers related to the breach and Equifax’s response, along with “other issues with the company.”

“This report does the math,” the senators wrote. “It analyzes data and individual complaints from the CFPB’s consumer complaint database in order to determine the extent of the impact of the Equifax breach on consumers, the effectiveness of the CFPB response, and whether this data justified a CFPB investigation. Staff reviewed complaints that mention ‘Equifax’ between Sept. 7, 2017, the day the breach was announced, and March 7, 2018. Staff also read through individual complaints to understand the issues facing consumers.”

The report, which was not requested by the CFPB, cited media reports using anonymous sources that insisted Mick Mulvaney, the Acting Director of the CFPB, intentionally slowed the agency’s investigation into the Equifax breach. However, the report also pointedly refused to identify Mulvaney as the CFPB’s Acting Director, and the senators stated that they sent a copy of the report to “Acting CFPB Director Leandra English,” ignoring that two federal courts ruled against English’s claim that she hold that title.

The report offered no recommendations for specific enforcement actions against Equifax, but it insisted that Congress address the issue of data

breaches by passing two pieces of legislation co-authored by Sen. Warren, the SECURE Act (cowritten with Sen. Schatz) and the Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act (co-written with Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia).

“As part of its duty to consumers, the CFPB must continue a full-throated investigation into the Equifax breach, including the company’s response and its efforts to work with consumers to mitigate the harm and repair any damage,” the report stated.

The Best Day to List Your Home Is …

When it comes to listing a home, homeowners will get the most bang for their bucks by putting the house for sale on a Wednesday, according to a new data analysis from Redfin.

However, to sell the fastest, homes listed on Thursday move with greater speed. As for the worst day to list, homeowners are advised to follow Melina Mercouri’s advice: “Never on Sunday.”

Redfin analyzed a sample of 100,000 homes that sold in 2017 and found the Wednesday-listed homes enjoyed a $2,023 sale price advantage over homes listed on a Sunday, a sale-to-list premium of 0.53 percent. But Thursday-listed homes were found by buyers an average of five days sooner than homes listed on Sunday, and

Thursday-listed homes were more likely to be sold within 90 and 180 days than homes listed on the other days.

“Serious buyers typically start making their weekend househunting plans late in the work week,” said Karla KirkpatrickAdams, a Redfin agent in Denver.

“You want your home to be one of the fresh listings buyers see pop up as they decide which homes they should see over the weekend. In the competitive Denver market, many homes are listed on Wednesday and Thursday with the expectation that buyers will come through over the weekend, submit offers by a Monday afternoon deadline and the home will be under contract by Tuesday.”

Portsmouth are a reflection of Mortgage Network’s philosophy of giving back to the communities we serve.”

Hispanic Homeownership Rate Inches Higher

The Hispanic homeownership rate reached 46.2 percent in 2017, according to the 2018 Annual Report from The Hispanic Wealth Project, a nonprofit organization supported by the National Association of Hispanic Real

Estate Professionals (NAHREP).

Last year, 7.47 million Hispanics were homeowners, an increase of 167,000—or 0.2 percent—from the 2016 level. Hispanics accounted for 15 percent of the net homeownership gains in 2017 and were the only demographic to have increased their rate of homeownership for the last three consecutive years.

Still, the report noted that many Hispanics are removed from being able to pursue homeownership.

“Currently, the median Hispanic household is a renter, without access to the wealth generating

properties home equity has to offer,” the report noted. “However, at a 50 percent Hispanic homeownership rate, the median Hispanic household would be an owner household, unlocking access to a primary source of wealth creation.”

The report also determined the median net worth of Hispanics rose from $13,700 in 2013 to $20,600 in 2016, while women entrepreneurs represented 50 percent of all Hispanic small business start-ups.

“With the youngest population and the highest work force continued on page 16

Mortgage Network Pitches in to “End 68 Hours of Hunger”

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Employees of Mortgage Network Inc.’s Portsmouth, N.H. offices recently teamed up with the nonprofit “End 68 Hours of Hunger” at the First United Methodist Church in Portsmouth.

End 68 Hours of Hunger is a private, not-for-profit effort to confront the approximately 68 hours of hunger that some school children experience between the free lunch they receive in school on Friday and the free breakfast they receive in school the following Monday morning.

Mortgage Network has two branch offices in Portsmouth, and Branch Managers Kirk Todd and Linda Browning, plus team members Darcy Bastarache, Adam Crowell and Courtney Lussier, packed bags of food for more than 80 children in need in the Portsmouth school system, from elementary school through high school.

“The Mortgage Network team in Portsmouth was honored to partner with ‘68 Hours of Hunger’ and the organization’s unsung, loving volunteers who work tirelessly to address this vital need in our schools,” said Branch Manager Todd. “Well-nourished, healthy children make for happier, safer households, which lead to positive contributors in our community. We look forward to helping again.”

Browning said, “Working to help provide food for local children was very rewarding. Our efforts in

The New Age of Monitoring and Marketing

By Scott Harris

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he trend for social monitoring now goes beyond compliance. As brands gain more insights into the behavior of their Loan Officers and customers on social media, they can now use data to plan and allocate resources to the platforms that perform best. Consider the following example: Through keyword monitoring and activity, a company may find that LO’s on the West Coast interact with future customers more often on Facebook, whereas LO’s on the East Coast are having greater success on LinkedIn. Having a social monitor system that goes beyond compliance will empower a company to provide LO’s the right resources for training, content and marketing for the platforms needed most. The result will allow LO’s to dominate and WOW customers in their local areas.

In the fall of 2017, SocialSurvey hosted a Summit which brought together clients and industry leaders to discuss, among other things, the various pain points and inefficiencies they were experiencing with the number of tech stacks they were using. An opportunity arose to leverage more from SocialSurvey’s unique ability to connect to partners’ social media platforms at the Brand, Region, Location and individual LO levels, where, on average, 75 percent of their LO’s are integrated and engaged.

The results from this summit brainstorm created two, new, customer-designed products that SocialSurvey is gearing up to roll out: The first is SocialMonitor, a powerful tool for compliance. It allows the enterprise to monitor and search for potential out-of-compliance behavior in real time.

The second product is SocialMarketing, a stealthy tool that shares reviews through SocialSurvey’s uniquely connected hierarchy so that companies can reach the right future customer at the right micro-moment (specific time and place).

It includes FaceBook Pixel integration to gather all selfidentified happy customers into larger lookalike audiences that can be targeted with ads to increase awareness, consideration and conversion over time.

The integration of both of these products will create WOW for companies, LO’s and customers alike—which is why you are invited to this year’s SocialSurvey WOW Summit in September.

Access to Beta products will be free for all current and future customers, so make sure you secure your ticket fast at CreateWOWSummit.com!

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participation in America, it is clear that the financial well-being of the Hispanic community is critical to the economic strength of the whole country,” said Jerry Ascencio, Chairman of the Hispanic Wealth Project.

Housing Discrimination Complaints Up Slightly in 2017

There were 28,843 reported housing discrimination complaints in 2017, a slight increase from complaints reported in 2016, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance’s (NFHA) 2018 Fair Housing Trends Report.

The NHFA pointed out that 71.3 percent of the complaints were handled by private, nonprofit fair housing organizations. In comparison, state and local governmental Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies processed 6,896 complaints, the Department of Housing and Urban Development only 1,311 complaints—less than five percent of the total—and the Department of Justice brought 41 cases. The three most prevalent complaints were related to disability (57 percent), race (19 percent), and family status (nine percent).

“We must commit to making every neighborhood a place of opportunity for its residents and to making all communities open to all people, regardless of race, national origin, disability, or other protected status,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of NFHA. “It has been 50 years, and the Fair Housing Act still has not been fully implemented. We cannot build a thriving society as long as our nation is plagued by discrimination, segregation, and severe economic inequality.”

properties were seriously underwater during the first quarter of this year, according to new statistics released

by ATTOM Data Solutions. This represents 9.5 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage, slightly higher than the 9.3 percent level in the fourth quarter of 2017 and slightly under the 9.7 percent level from one year earlier.

The year-over-year drop in the quantity of underwater properties was 291,000, the smallest annualized decline since ATTOM began analyzing this aspect of the housing market in the first quarter of 2013. On the flip side, more than 13.8 million residential properties with a mortgage were equity rich at the end of the first quarter, up by more than 122,000 from a year ago.

The states with the highest share of seriously underwater homes at the end of first quarter were Louisiana (20.1 percent), Mississippi (18 percent), Iowa (17.2 percent), West Virginia (15.9 percent) and Illinois (15.9 percent). The states with the highest share of equity rich homes were Hawaii (41.6 percent), California (41.5 percent), New York (34.8 percent), Washington (33.1 percent) and Oregon (31.8 percent).

“We’ve reached a tipping point in this housing boom where enough homeowners have regained both sufficient equity and sufficient confidence to tap into their home equity—resulting in a noticeably slower decline in seriously underwater properties and slower growth in equity rich properties,” said Daren Blomquist, Senior Vice President at ATTOM Data Solutions.

“This tapping of equity could take the form of a cash-out refinance, home equity loan or simply a home sale. We saw the biggest quarterly drop in average homeownership tenure for homeowners who sold in the first quarter since the fourth quarter of 2008, evidence that more homeowners are reaching that equity-tapping tipping point more quickly and deciding to sell.”

Home Values Remain Lower in Historically Redlined Areas

Nearly 10 Percent of Mortgaged Residences Are Seriously Underwater Scott Harris, CEO at SocialSurvey. For 20+ years Scott has delivered more than a dozen software solution for lenders. His SocialSurvey platform empowers WOW performances in the mortgage industry.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

In the half-century since the passage of the Fair Housing Act, the residue More than 5.2 million residential

continued on page 20

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Next Level Marketing

A

marketing revolution with profound implications both in theory and in practice … integrating online PPC, SEO, SEM and social media with traditional direct marketing, it’s ahead of its time. Known as Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), it’s how your business will boom regardless of interest rates or housing markets.

To effectively engage your past and future clients, you need to be online Staying in front of your past clients, and attracting new ones, is based on the impact and timing of your message. Planning the delivery method and timing of a consistent message across all media outlets. Cross-platform integration is necessary and its redefining marketing as we know it. By integrating your marketing efforts, you exponentially increase the results.

Marketing has become easier and much more powerful Difficulties implementing new high-tech methods are a thing of the past. Advancements in technology remove the barriers of integration. IMC pays off with big online and direct marketing messages, all focused on the same group at a specified time.

Engagements online will be high, as will direct responses. With a strong call to action, a measurable increase in overall engagement and ROI will be quickly realized.

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Harness the power of each channel by combining them The Internet changed the world. Google, Amazon and Facebook changed the Internet. Put the buying experience of your clients first, then strategically plan your marketing and communication around it all. This is how these Internet giants have succeeded.

These highly effective online campaigns, executed with laser precision, combined with traditional marketing methods like direct mail and telemarketing, are proven to increase traffic on your Web site and direct responses as well. Get integrated and get ahead.

TagQuest Inc. client spotlight …

Each month, we like to talk with our clients and find out how their marketing campaigns are going. Here is what we heard from Don R., a California-based Mortgage Lender. l Campaign type: TagQuest MADI Program (Multi-Channel, IMC) l Leads delivered: 12 per day l Applications taken: 30 percent (four per day) l Monthly total: 80 applications per month Highlights of the campaign …

“Quality and the consistency I can count on.”

What do you think might appeal to others in your industry?

“It’s a live call, an e-mail response or an exclusive Web-lead.

That’s all we need.”

TagQuest Inc. is a full-service marketing firm specializing in marketing for the mortgage industry. Call (888) 717-8980 or visit www.tagquest.com.

IMAGINE • INNOVATE • SUCCEED SPONSORED EDITORIAL

new to market

continued from page 13

grants of up to two percent of the purchase price and incentives of up to six percent of closing costs.

“AFR is grateful to be one of the administrators of this program,” said Bill Packer, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of American Financial Resources.

“We feel it is important to support these individuals that give so much to our country.”

Offered by a governmental agency, TAP is available for FHA home lending products.

First American Expands Product Access Through Its Digital Gateway

First American Mortgage Solutions LLC, a part of the First American family of companies, has announced the expansion of the application programming interfaces (APIs) available through its Digital Gateway, giving users greater flexibility to create modern, consumer-friendly applications and workflows.

First American Mortgage Solutions’ Digital Gateway serves as a single platform for mortgage lenders and servicers, Loan Origination System (LOS) providers, fintech companies and Point-of-Sale (POS) solution providers to access data and services across the First American enterprise. The APIs and flexible architecture can be used to create digital mortgage applications focused on borrower experience.

Benefits can include loan application efficiencies via autopopulation and data validation, as well as simplifying complex tasks and improving overall efficiency.

“Since the initial launch customer feedback has been extremely positive, and we expect increased engagement as more digital solutions emerge,” said Kevin Wall, President of First American Mortgage Solutions. “Our strong set of APIs, with more coming soon, allows unparalleled flexibility and workflow configuration. We’re also continuing to streamline integration of our data, products and services to speed up digital transformation across

the mortgage spectrum.”

First American APIs and datasets available through Digital Gateway include: Multiple Identity APIs for comprehensive searches of applicants’ Social Security numbers with identity and occupancy validation; Multiple Property APIs for nationwide property or owner searches, including hundreds of property data points and listing history; Proprietary Ownership APIs, leveraging a nationwide search for properties owned by the borrowers, and any potential unidentified addresses, foreclosures and preforeclosures; Liens and Judgments API, both FCRA and non-FCRA compliant; and Fraud, Verifications and Compliance API and datasets.

“We’re committed to investing in data and digital solutions across our business to assist customers in achieving their goals,” Wall said. “Digital Gateway is our latest technology innovation designed to support their vision to accelerate mortgage lending and improve consumer experience.”

Cloudvirga Adds Appraisal Order Management From Mercury Network

Cloudvirga has announced its completion of a fully automated integration with Mercury Network, part of CoreLogic. The integration makes appraisal ordering and management more efficient and compliant for Cloudvirga’s lender customers, thereby reducing overall loan production costs. Cloudvirga’s intelligent appraisal engine ensures efficiency and compliance throughout the appraisal lifecycle by accurately determining which appraisal forms are required for a given property location, loan amount, loan type and loan program.

The seamless integration allows Cloudvirga customers to place appraisal orders directly to Mercury Network, without the lender or customer having to rekey information or leave Cloudvirga’s POS platform.

“Cloudvirga’s integration with continued on page 25

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States Signal Increased Protection Efforts as CFPB Pulls Back

By Gavin T. Ales

S

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everal states have recently issued press releases or held press events, in some cases with much fanfare, indicating increased efforts to step into any void created by the shift in focus recently indicated by the CFPB’s new leadership. Mick Mulvaney was appointed Director of the CFPB after Richard Cordray resigned in November 2017. Under Mulvaney, the CFPB has indicated on multiple fronts that it intends to decrease rulemaking efforts, in some cases declining to proceed with rules announced under previous leadership, as well as pull back on enforcement actions.

In response to these actions, state financial regulators have signaled their intention to increase regulatory and enforcement efforts in the mortgage lending space. The State of New Jersey recently announced a change in leadership to its Division of Consumer Affairs, the main state agency responsible for enforcing consumer protection laws. In announcing the nomination of Paul Rodriguez to the leadership position, New Jersey Attorney General stated, “As the federal government abandons its responsibility to protect consumers from financial fraudsters, it is more important than ever that New Jersey pick up the mantle to protect its own residents.”

New Jersey’s statements and action follow the lead of other state officials in stepping into a more prominent regulatory role. In 2017, the Pennsylvania Attorney General launched a state Consumer Protection Unit within the Office of Attorney General. To lead the new unit, the Attorney General named former CFPB employee Nicholas Smyth, who helped create the federal agency and draft Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act. Also in 2017, the State of Maryland legislature established the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission. In January, lawmakers announced they would begin drafting laws to protect consumers based on the commission’s findings and recommendations.

In 2017, the Pennsylvania Attorney General joined with 19 other state attorneys general in submitting a letter to House Financial Services Committee cautioning against any weakening of the CFPB through legislation. The Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), Maria T. Vullo, posted a statement to its website in January that she is “disappointed by the new administration’s sudden policy shift, which is clearly intended to undermine necessary national financial services regulation and enforcement. DFS remains committed to its mission to safeguard the financial services industry and protect New York Consumers, and will continue to lead and take action to fill the increasing number of regulatory voids created by the federal government.”

If critical federal consumer financial protections are diminished, more states will likely respond by strengthening their efforts to establish and enforce state-level protection.

Gavin T. Ales is chief compliance officer with Torrance, Calif.-based DocMagic Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 649-1362, ext. 6446 or e-mail Gavin@DocMagic.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

nmp news flash

continued from page 16

of discrimination can still be felt in areas that were once designated for redlining by the long-defunct federal Home Owners’ Loan Corp. (HOLC).

According to a new data analysis

by Zillow, the median value of a home in areas that were redlined is $276,199, which is roughly $50,000 below the $324,489 median value of homes in the surrounding areas.

In some formerly redlined areas, the disparity is more pronounced: homes in Atlanta communities that were once marked as “hazardous” by the HOLC are worth $193,866, compared with $428,813 for the rest of the region, while home in the old redlined sections of Tampa are valued at $219,991, compared to $482,141 for homes in the surrounding areas.

The HOLC was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 in response to the housing crisis fueled by the Great Depression. The agency created appraisal sheets and so-called “Residential Security Maps” that marked off areas deemed “hazardous” for mortgage origination—and many of these areas were predominantly black communities. The practice, which became known as redlining due to the crimson borders drawn on the HOLC maps, continued after the agency was shuttered in 1954.

“The lasting impact of redlining is a striking example of how the kind of discrimination, financial and racial, codified nearly a century ago continues to affect homeowners and whole communities today,” said Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell. “Redlining and other forms of systemic discrimination, from Jim Crow laws to racial covenants, contributed to a serious divide in homeownership rates between whites and other groups that has had devastating consequences for both the financial wealth and social health of non-white Americans.”

Gudell noted there were a few exceptions to this rule—most notably in Boston, where the average home value in a formerly redlined area was about $95,000 higher than the surrounding communities. “With the renewed popularity of inner cities in particular in recent years, some formerly redlined areas are experiencing a renaissance of sorts, but even in these areas ‘success’ is relative,” she added. “Gentrification and eminent domain, for example, have both re-shaped cities and often displaced long-time residents, many of them people of color.

Progress toward closing these gaps and righting history’s wrongs has

been slow, and clearly there’s a lot of work left to be done.”

HUD Sued Over Suspending Obama-Era Fair Housing Rule

A trio of nonprofit advocacy groups—The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), Texas Appleseed and Texas Low Income Housing Information Service—filed a lawsuit to force the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to reinstate an Obama-era “affirmatively further fair housing” (AFFH) requirement that local and state governments address segregated housing patterns as a condition of receiving HUD funding.

The AFFH was enacted in 2015.

In their lawsuit, the groups charged HUD with unlawfully suspending the requirement in January for six years, which they claimed would “effectively removing civil rights oversight of as much as $5.5 billion per year until 2024 or later for almost 1,000 jurisdictions.” The Texas-based nonprofits suing HUD asserted that the AFFH rule is needed “as a bulwark against an unequal rebuilding process in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.”

“For 30 years, NFHA has promoted the affirmatively furthering fair housing requirement of the Fair Housing Act,” said NFHA President and Chief Executive Officer Lisa Rice. “We have advocated to HUD to release an effective AFFH Rule, educated jurisdictions, fair housing groups and community-based organizations about the AFFH requirements, and implemented programs designed to further fair housing. Each day HUD holds up requiring jurisdictions to fully comply with the law is another day that millions of people are being denied fair housing opportunities.

HUD’s action is a clear example of ‘justice delayed, justice denied.’”

HUD did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are being represented in their litigation by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., continued on page 51

NAMB+ is an independent, wholly-owned, for-profit marketing subsidiary of NAMB, The Association of Mortgage Professionals.

Dear Mortgage Professional, It’s all about marketing in this issue of NMP, and NAMB+ is all about marketing too! We build relationships with top companies serving our industry and then work to connect these NAMB+ Endorsed Providers with mortgage professionals like you.

Our NAMB+ Endorsed Providers can help you enhance your own marketing efforts as well. With partners like Simple Nexus, Social 5, MySmartBlog, PreApp1003, Syncro and eEndorsements, you can grow your business and reach more customers more efficiently and cost effectively than ever before!

It’s not just about having a website or even a basic mobile app anymore.

Today’s borrowers (and our referral partners for that matter) want to learn everything about us and communicate with us digitally in real time, and ultimately refer us to their friends and family with the touch of a button. With the marketing

technologies offered by our NAMB+ Endorsed Providers you can achieve all of this and more!

As Summer draws closer by the day many of us hope to spend less time tethered to our desks, so now is the perfect time to explore how NAMB+’s Endorsed Providers can help you automate your marketing, free you from your office and keep you in front of your customers, prospects and referral sources.

Sincerely,

Mike DeSantis President, NAMB+, Inc. mike.desantis@namb.org

See below for a complete listing of the current NAMB+ Endorsed Providers and visit NAMBPlus.com for more information.

Full-service mortgage credit reporting company serving the nation’s financial community. Avantus provides custom mortgage credit reports, fraud and compliance solutions, and innovative lead generation products available exclusively to Avantus customers.

NAMB members receive a discount off Brokers Compliance Group compliance support programs.

MassMutual Disability Income Through an arrangement with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), NAMB members have an opportunity to apply for individual disability income insurance (DI) at discounted rates.

MortgageHippo Swift allows loan originators of all sizes to deliver a modern borrowing experience, significantly improve

PreApp 1003 Founded in 2015, Houstonbased PreApp 1003 was created to fill a growing need for mortgage loan originators to easily and securely prequalify mortgage prospects from the convenience of their mobile devices.

SYNCRO connects mobile salespeople to their office website leads. NAMB Members receive a 10% discount off regular prices for monthly unlimited SYNCRO Web Chat packages.

21 USA Business Lending, Inc. USA Business Lending is your complete resource for everything commercial lending. With our extensive network of funding sources and specialized loan programs, you can be sure that your clients have access to the most competitive rates and terms available on the market.

Sarma gives you access to their extensive resources including: merged reports from the three top credit bureaus, CreditXpert tools, AVM Reports, SocialValidate, TRV Verification, Interface with over 30 LOS, Fannie and Freddie connection, Verification of employment/deposit and much more.

NAMB Members will receive a Twenty-Five Percent (25%) discount off of the regular price with their NAMB Membership.

Simplii VOIP business phone solutions include all the features and functionality of a high end business phone system without the high costs. We offer all NAMB members a 10% discount off their phone services.

NAMB PLUS Login Instructions Username = Member Number Password = First initial of your first name capitalized and your last name with the first letter of the last name capitalized (example = JStevens)

If you are not a NAMB member please visit NAMB.org and join today to gain access to NAMBPLUS.com and the many benefits NAMB members receive!

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2018

eEndorsements promotes your success by making it easy to capture customer reviews, control your content, and publish your testimonials where they matter to drive new business. Automatically share your reviews on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Easily invite your clients to share reviews to sites like Yelp and Zillow. eEndorsements offers a 34% discount to NAMB Members.

MySMARTblog.com The way your prospects think has changed and that is where the massive shift occurred. At MySMARTblog.com we build a complete, dynamic and Profitable Online Presence™ in order to protect you and your valuable repeat and referral business from your competition.

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borrower conversions, reduce origination costs and integrate with other innovative technologies in the mortgage industry. NAMB members will receive a 25% discount.

Message From NAMB 2017-2018 President John G. Stevens, CRMS

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is the voice of the mortgage industry, representing the interests of mortgage professionals and homebuyers since 1973.

NAMB members include small business owners, Loan Originators, Account Executives and other industry professionals.

NAMB, and its affiliate companies, are committed to promoting the highest degree of professionalism and ethical standards for its members.

In addition to mandating members adhere to a professional Code of Ethics, NAMB provides mortgage professionals with education opportunities, and offers rigorous certification programs to recognize members with the highest levels of professional knowledge and education.

As the leading national trade association for this industry, NAMB is affiliated with State Associations throughout the country and represents the interests of more than 910,000 licensed and registered Mortgage Loan Originators and 39,000 licensed Mortgage Broker and Mortgage Lender businesses (information obtained from 2016 NMLS Mortgage Industry Report).

NAMB’s active lobbying and advocacy efforts frequently focus on national and state issues.

The association hosts several meetings throughout the year.

NAMB also offers members a host of benefits aimed at increasing productivity and lowering business costs.

Since mortgage professionals participate in a large number of home Loans Originations, homebuyers’ interests are also important to NAMB. The association supports a consumer education and fraud reporting program with information and links available on the NAMB.org Web site.

The NAMB Board of Directors has supervision and direction over all business affairs of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, its committees and publications. The Board determines the general policies, actively promotes the association’s objectives and supervises the disbursement of its funds. The Board meets at least four times a year and Board members are elected from professional members in good standing. Leading the Board, there are six Officers who serve oneyear terms and anywhere from six to 12 Board Directors with term lengths of up to three years.

Directors take office immediate following the Annual Meeting and serve for their specified term.

To learn more about the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, visit NAMB.org, or write to NAMB at: 601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, South Building, Washington, D.C. 20004. Or you may call NAMB at (202) 434-8250 or e-mail Membership@NAMB.org.

Sincerely,

John G. Stevens, CRMS President of NAMB

“NAMB also offers members a host of benefits aimed at increasing productivity and lowering business costs.”

John G. Stevens, CRMS is President of NAMB and Vice President of National Business Development for Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG). John has been actively involved in NAMB and mortgage industry thought leadership since 2010.

Feel free to reach John by phone at (801) 427-7111 or e-mail JohnGStevens@gmail.com.

N A M B

P E R S P E C T I V E

A Message From NAMB Government Affairs Committee Chair Christopher J. Bettis, CMC, CRMS, CMPS

Top 10 Reasons to join NAMB l Great events and the opportunity to take your business and income to the next level. l Access to great networking and relationship building with the best lenders and vendors. l Wholesale Lenders who give you a pricing advantage over your competitors. l Take control, get involved … protect your income and profession. l Legislative updates and activities. l Best business insurance. l Professional designations: GMA, CMC, CRMS, Lending Integrity Seal of Approval (Credibility and Notoriety). l Recognized as a Professional … join your association just like doctors, Realtors and builders do. l Power in numbers. l NAMB+ l Education (Continuing Education). l Networking among your peers! Meet the best of the best in the mortgage industry Now is the time to be part of the best mortgage trade association, NAMB. We are here to help you build a mortgage legacy for the future. All you have to do is go to our Web site, NAMB.org.

George W. Burkley III, CRMS is Owner and Founder of Goshen, Ind.-based American Mortgage & Financial Services, and NAMB Director, as well as Chairman of the Membership Committee. He may be reached by email at George.Burkley@NAMB.org.

Christopher J. Bettis, CMC, CRMS, CMPS of Eugene, Ore.By Linda McCoy, CRMS based Precision Capital is a member of the NAMB Board of Directors and Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee.

I am Chair of NAMB’s Certification Committee and I keep asking He may be reached by e-mail at Chris.Bettis@NAMB.org. myself, “How do I get NAMB members interested in being certified?”

We who have passed the test to be a Certified Residential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS) or a Certified Mortgage Consultant (CMC) have a special feeling of respect for others with designations.

We know that we have gone that extra mile in our field to become the best of the best. When we go to NAMB National or any NAMB event, we shake hands with people, introduce ourselves and notice

By George W. Burkley III, CRMS those who have designations after their names. We automatically As I write this Membership Minute article, we are in Washington, D.C. know they love our industry and have worked hard to obtain the highest honor by being able to put that designation after their name. for the 2018 NAMB Legislative & Regulatory Conference. With the I think a lot of readers of this publication actually qualify to take political and regulatory changes here in Washington, D.C., now is the the test. Please read below and see if you are eligible to get your time to work with our regulators and politicians to correct the issues with the Dodd-Frank Act that affect our clients. NAMB will be all over CRMS designation. If not, start working toward this goal. I want to Capitol Hill working for you and your business and your clients. It will share that wonderful feeling and I will be looking for those be an interesting next few months as we watch positive changes start designations after your name at all the NAMB events.

NAMB’s Membership Minute: May 2018

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2018

NAMB Certification Committee Update

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NationalMortgageProfessional.com

What “Triggered” the Ban Bill of Trigger Leads?

“NAMB, kinda late to the game, trigger leads have been around for years” and “Why now?” Both of these hit social media and are fair questions. But what surprises me is the additional commentary acting as if NAMB is new or unaware of the past. NAMB has been educating, advocating and empowering for 45 years. We are the voice of the Mortgage Broker, the small Business Owner, and the Mortgage Originator. In this instance, our fight was to protect the consumer whom we serve.

Our very own Ginny Ferguson lead the Sub-Committee on Trigger Leads. She was the perfect person to bring this analysis and recommendation together. Ginny has been advocating on this very issue for decades. The Committee was comprised of multiple segments of industry … from Originators, to Owners, Mortgage Brokers, Mortgage Bankers, Credit Experts, and Wholesale Lenders.

The issue, when a consumer applies for a mortgage or refinance, Mortgage Originators are unable to prevent the inclusion of their borrowers’ personal information on trigger lists sold by credit bureaus.

Consumers get called and, in most cases, confuse the borrower; and in the worst case, fraudulently trick the borrower.

Many times, the borrower believes the Mortgage Originator sold their name on the Internet. NAMB believes that the fact a consumer applying for a mortgage should not be public information. In the era of Dark Web information being sold and numerous leaks and breaches of databases, the consumer needs to be given more control over their data. NAMB believes contacting the consumer during the complex mortgage process could be harmful and confusing and opens up the possibility of fraud and unfair and deceptive activity.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), credit reporting agencies are permitted by law to resell your information to prospective creditors without your permission, as long as the prospective creditor is prepared to make you a “firm offer of credit.” For mortgages, trigger lists are traditionally used by creditors to monitor existing customers for signs of financial distress or to protect their interest in a pool of mortgages. NAMB believes this is a legitimate purpose and should continue.

While we believe in fair market and do not want to see more burdensome regulation; the risk posed to the consumer outweighed the gain to industry. This is what “Triggered” the Ban Bill. It isn’t about maximize profits or trying to get a strategic advantage. This about doing the right thing and putting people before profits.

Go NAMB, Government Affairs, and I hope you have a successful and blessed day!!

over the next six months.

Our membership goal for 2018 is to add 2,000 new members to NAMB, as we are the association for the mortgage professional.

Whether you are a Mortgage Originator, Mortgage Banker or Mortgage Broker, NAMB is working to help protect and grow your business. For just $120 per year, your NAMB membership opens the door to help you grow your business, as well as be your trade association voice to represent you with our regulators and politicians in Washington, D.C. For just $10 per month, NAMB is working for you, the Originator, the Broker, the Banker. How much do you spend every month at Starbucks? NAMB is an outstanding value for our members and you will get a great return for your $120 investment as you can see below:

N A M B

P E R S P E C T I V E

The CRMS exam is open to mortgage professionals who meet the following requirements: l Have at least two years of mortgage industry experience; l Possess and have documented a minimum of 50 qualifying points; l Agree to abide by, and have no violations against, the NAMB Code of Ethics; and l Agree to abide by, and have no violations against, NAMB’s Best Lending Practices.

CRMS Requirements & Qualifying Points

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Categories Qualifiers

Points

Category I

Work Experience

3-5 points per year

Category II

Mortgage Education

1 point per credit hour or 1 point per clock hour

20

40

Category III

Formal Education

3-10 points depending on degree

0

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Category IV

Professional Certifications

5 points per mortgage industry credential; 15 points per NAMB credential

0

15

Category V

Leadership & Participation

Points vary according to level of participation

0

15

to NAMB.org, click on “Certification,” and then “Select Certification Handbook” and select the “Certification Application” you want. Let me know if you are interested? I hope you will be NAMB’s next CRMS or CMC. Linda McCoy, CRMS of Mobile, Ala.-based Mortgage Team 1 Inc. is a member of the NAMB Board of Directors, as well as NAMB Certification Committee Chair. She may be reached by e-mail at Linda.McCoy@NAMB.org.

Minimum Maximum Points Points 10 30

NAMB National 2018

Saturday-Monday, December 8-10 Caesar’s Palace Do you meet the qualifications to be a CRMS? I have had many 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard • Las Vegas people ask, “What is the difference between the CRMS and the CMC?” The big difference is the CMC has commercial questions too. NAMB is excited to announce that NAMB National 2018 will be held at the Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, from Saturday-Monday, Dec. 8If you are doing both residential and commercial, then you might 10. As famous as Las Vegas itself, Caesar’s Palace is the bestwant to take the CMC test, but the CRMS is a good start.

I hope while reading this, you thought to yourself that you meet the known casino resort in the world—and with good reason. What qualifications and have enough points to take the test. Let me know if began as a grand casino honoring the indulgent luxuries of ancient you need any help. The next step is to submit an application by going Rome has somehow evolved into something even more spectacular.

Caesar’s Palace is renowned for impeccable service and attention to detail, and conference exhibitors and attendees can rightly expect the same. In fact, the only thing that can ever surpass their commitment to provide an extraordinary experience for their guests is their commitment to make planning it simple and effortless for you.

Limited space is available ... sign up today! For more information, visit NAMB.org.

Are You an NAMB Lending Integrity Seal of Approval Holder?

(No additional costs to NAMB members)

How to Apply for your National Lending Integrity Seal LendingIntegrity.org Click on EARN the Seal NAMB members ONLY–Log in to the Lending Integrity site with your NAMB User ID and Password (If you do not know your User ID and Password, type in your e-mail and click log-in and the system will send you a password. If you have any issues, please call (202) 434-8250 or e-mail Membership@NAMB.org).

Lending Integrity Requirements The Lending Integrity Seal of Approval is awarded only to mortgage originators who meet specific requirements. To earn the privilege to display the Seal, mortgage brokers and loan officers must: l Be an NAMB member l Meet the requirements of the SAFE Act l Pass a national criminal background check l Attend eight hours (or equivalent) of professional development education each year l Attend two hours (or equivalent) of ethics training every other year or each license renewal cycle l Provide professional references l Subscribe to NAMB’s Best Business Practices l Agree to NAMB’s Code of Ethics l Must be renewed annually

NAMB Swarms Coming Soon …

Join NAMB, the Young Mortgage Professionals Association (YMPA) and National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) for the upcoming “NAMB On the Road” events now titled “NAMB Swarm,” sponsored by United Wholesale Mortgage.

This day-long event is filled with a variety of speakers that will provide those in attendance with great information and useful tools that can be used to help grow and improve your business! The cost for this session is only $40 per person and includes breakfast and lunch!

Upcoming NAMB Swarms: l Friday, Sept. 14 at the Boston Marriott Burlington in Burlington, Mass. l October 2018, location to be determined in Dallas For more information on upcoming NAMB Swarm events, visit NAMB.org.

new to market

continued from page 20

Mercury Network streamlines not just appraisal ordering, but the entire appraisal process for noticeable gains in origination efficiency,” said Cloudvirga Product Manager Matt Howard.

“Lenders can feel more confident than ever in the compliance of their collateral valuation thanks to Cloudvirga’s careful analysis of myriad data points, including loan program details, to ensure the right appraisal forms are ordered the first time, every time.”

Jennifer Miller, President of Mercury Network, CoreLogic, said, “Mercury Network’s product suite is used by almost 1,000 lenders and appraisal management companies nationwide. We’re proud to integrate with Cloudvirga to give our mutual customers a truly seamless integration that makes appraisal ordering and delivery faster with greater accuracy and enhanced overall lending efficiency.”

Plaid Announces Assets and Day 1 Certainty Compliance

Ideal Lending Introduces Protection+ Down Payment Protection

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information promoting new “niche” loan programs, new products or any other announcement related to the introduction of a new program, to the attention of: New to Market column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail:

By Chris Johnstone

A

fter a recent pause, Facebook is now allowing new bots to be launched on their platform again!

According to Facebook IQ, more than two billion businessrelated messages are sent through Facebook Messenger every month.

There are already more than 100,000 active bots being run by businesses on Facebook and our customers are quickly starting to expect an immediate response to their needs through Messenger Chat. (Think where texting was just three short years ago!)

Recent studies of active Facebook users show that 67 percent expressed expectations of having the possibility to get in touch with the sellers and service providers by means of chats.

Now, you may be thinking what is a bot and how does it generate mortgage deals? A bot is simply a program that automates a task or a conversation. You can use bots to help with customer support, mortgage processing or generating more referrals from your past clients. Our primary use for bots is to have new leads start the process of applying for a loan direct from a Facebook advertisement.

Once the person clicks on a targeted ad, the bot turns on and guides the person through an automated chat conversation inside Facebook Messenger.

The bot helps to guide your new leads through the process of starting to apply for their mortgage, while automating the task of qualifying the lead for you.

Once a bot is set up, it runs in the background without you having to do anything.

A new lead can message into the bot, and it will automatically help them go through the initial stages of the mortgage application.

Based on the lead responses, the bot guides them in the right direction, and helps them move to the next step. It also notifies you of the quality of each lead and helps you automate your follow up to get the quality leads to the next stage of their mortgage application.

For a quick example of a basic mortgage application bot, you can visit ChatBotMortgageleads.com.

There are a number of tools that allow you to build your bots, including ManyChat.com and ChatFuel.com.

You can drive leads through your bot by sending them to a landing page, having them make a comment on a Facebook post or simply running Facebook ads to get interested prospects in your local market to use your bot to start the application process.

Today is the day to start implementing and getting your bots in place. There is a fantastic opportunity to be one of the first to market and capture this new deal source. Have fun and let us know if you have any questions.

Chris Johnstone is Chief Executive Officer of Connection Inc. The team at Connection Inc. are digital marketing experts that specialize in the mortgage business. The drive closed loans and positive ROI from Google and Facebook advertising systems. For more info contact Chris Johnstone at Chris@ConnectionIncorporated.com or call (855) 432-3990.

Newsroom@MortgageNewsNetwork.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

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n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2018

Ideal Lending Solutions has introduced Protection+, residential mortgage coverage for homebuyers that reimburses them up to their full downpayment if they need to sell at a loss due to market conditions. The established South Florida mortgage lender is offering it for free on owneroccupied, fixed rate 96.50 percent LTV FHA loans, and it is also available on most other loan options.

“We are committed to keeping our borrowers’ risk low and confidence high as they make one of the most emotional purchases of their lives,” said Wilson D. Enriquez, Florida Regional Manager at Ideal Lending Solutions, a division of American Financial Network Inc. “Clearly, Ideal Lending Solutions understands the South Florida homebuying market and its consumers’ needs,” said Joe Melendez, Chief Executive Officer of Dallas, Texas-based ValueInsured, provider of +Plus Down Payment Protection.

“Florida homebuyers know all too well from 10 years ago that as quickly as prices can rise, they can also fall, and their savings tied up in their homes need protection.”

Facebook Bots Are Back!

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Plaid has announced the launch of its newest product, Assets, allowing lenders to embed Plaid directly into their applications to drive operational efficiency and help ensure information completeness and integrity.

Through Assets, borrowers can now share with lenders the information they need, directly from the source. Given the wide array of tools and services powered by Plaid, the account linkage experience will likely be familiar to the user.

Plaid Assets is also now an accepted provider of asset verification for Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter validation service, part of its Day 1 Certainty initiative, which offers peace of mind to lenders by providing rep and warrant relief on verified loan components. Fannie Mae has seen loans with assets validated through the DU validation service close 17 percent faster on average.

“Plaid’s journey in mortgage is just getting started,” said Kate Adamson, Head of Mortgage at Plaid. “We look forward to providing the industry with solutions that

better serve borrower needs across the loan cycle, and building more partnerships with leaders like Fannie Mae to deliver solutions that benefit both lenders and borrowers to move the industry forward.”

NMP Mortgage Professiona Kyle Gunderlock President and Chief Operating Officer Citadel Servicing Corporation

BY PHIL HALL

K

yle Gunderlock is President and Chief Operating Officer at Citadel Servicing Corporation in Irvine, Calif. National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently spoke with Kyle regarding his career in the mortgage profession.

How did you first get involved with mortgage banking? Was it your original career path?

My professional history started within the operations and engineering departments of a phone company in Los Angeles. After deregulation, the market had a visceral reaction to several new entrants, and over the course of two years, I was laid off by the same company four times. But within a week of each layoff, I would receive a call saying I was “a valued contributor and [am] being offered a new position.”

I was discouraged by this merrygo-round. Thankfully, a trusted friend was looking to add Transaction Managers to his department within an Orange County, Calif.-based mortgage company. I quickly moved to sales, then capital markets, and then into a management role. Within a small company, flexibility was key and learning what every position does and their respective responsibilities provided an opportunity to advance.

Over the course of 15 years, this exposure only allowed me to increase my knowledge base and eventually accept a promotion to

Chief Operating Officer. I dare say it was an unusual path, but I would not trade it.

How did you first become associated with Citadel?

I was a Sales Vice President with Citadel Servicing Corporation’s (CSC) sister company, First Street Financial Inc. (FSFI). In 2007, FSFI was shuttered, but CSC remained.

Later that year, CSC shifted from servicing FSFI’s origination book to an S&D trade. I had a skillset that allowed me to add value to that endeavor.

In your opinion, what makes Citadel Servicing stand out from the competition?

Citadel Servicing is an innovator and market leader in the non-QM market. The company’s management has a history of understanding credit and risk. Our approach to the market is to make high quality and compliant loans that perform well.

Under this thesis, we have created a number of new products that have enhanced the non-QM space, including the One-Month Bank Statement Program, ATR-in-

Full Program (taking consideration to ATR via an applicant’s nondepreciating liquid assets), and not to mention, several outside DoddFrank programs designed to disintermediate private money lenders in the residential and smallbalance commercial arena.

We are the largest exclusively non-QM lender and have a focus only on our products within this market segment. Furthermore, we are the only Non-QM lender that is also a rated servicer for this product line. Looking over competitor’s PPMs, I often see pages upon pages of exceptions and spiking delinquencies. CSC has designed a strong set of products and as the servicer is also able to manage those loans.

How do you see the current state of the non-prime market?

CSC was a catalyst that regenerated non-QM originations beginning in 2011. A handful of additional entrants to the space in the succeeding seven years have joined us in this effort, but I still view nonQM lending as being in an adolescent state. I see effort from some of the rating agencies to

create a general harmony between competitor’s guidelines, but there has not been a suit nor regulatory action to test the separation between Appendix Q and the Eight-Point Test of ATR. There is still a significant amount of testing of unique and innovative products yet to be pioneered. I am looking forward to the next several years as rates look to increase and new prudent originators play their own spin on ATR. It should be an interesting time.

The company recently said it would begin offering a 5/1 Hybrid Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) and 5/25 Interest Only (IO) term.

Why did you decide to introduce these offerings?

It comes down to math. CSC has been originating 7/1 Hybrid ARMs, coupled with an Interest-Only product with a seven-year IO period shifting to a 23-year fully-amortized period. Shifting to a five-year allows a greater quantity of qualified applicants to enjoy the opportunity to select an IO product by qualifying off a 25-year remaining term versus 23year. However, CSC is still offering the 7/1 to qualified applicants who

onal of the Month

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are interested in a longer fixed period to their Hybrid-ARM. When the company is looking to hire, what are the qualities that you seek out in prospective employees?

We are still in a high growth mode and value honesty, intelligence, a positive attitude and work ethics.

These attributes go a long way to making CSC a leader.

Every desk at CSC has a small placard on it that reads: “Our Vision: Make Money.

Have Fun. Our Values: Do the Right Thing.

Be Profitable.

Be Considerate.

Act Prudently.”

CSC has a history of promoting from within, and to advance that approach, our Learning & Development Department (L&D) was created. Not only does L&D train employees for their current positions, but CSC also offers a full series of professional courses focusing on career enhancement from Excel Training, to Effective Communication, to a 16-Course

Series on Management. Graduates even get gift cards to really drive the importance home.

In your opinion, what can the industry do to encourage young people to pursue careers in mortgage banking?

In our market segment, the stigma of the sub-prime era needs to continue to shrink in the rearview mirror. It is about time creating distance along with the non-prime of this era creating viable loans. I think an increased reception of this product will occur with a shift in rates.

It is self-evident that Mortgage Loan Officers (MLOs) have recycled through their book for years in this low rate market environment. An added knowledge base will arm MLOs to help more borrowers with unique and atypical scenarios. This will then allow Non-QM originations to grow and challenge new participants to the space.

Looking back on your work in the industry, what do you see as your greatest challenges and your greatest accomplishments?

I seek to educate. I see a lack of

communication and understanding of mortgage products by-and-large as the greatest challenge facing the industry. Despite the efforts to portray more accurate and timely information to consumers, I only see and hear additional stories about consumers receiving a plethora of disclosures; yet I rarely hear of them actually being read.

I think the best thing I have done is to help create a product that is easy to understand, and in a matterof-fact and transparent fashion put everything about that product on our Web site (CitadelServicing.com).

CSC has assisted more than 6,000 homeowners to gain financing, and generally, those applicants were denied financing by conventional lenders.

measurable slowdown in refinance paper, which has led a number of mortgage companies to reduce staff via a series of layoffs. QM lenders will need to focus on additional efficiencies by reducing overhead as decreasing margins make it difficult to be viable in that area. Consequently, companies with a focus on purchase money transactions and those that opportunistically will be shifting to products reaching a greater population base of qualified applicants will be resilient in a decreasing quantity of originators.

Outside of work, how do you spend your leisure time?

I am fortunate to have a lovely wife, a fussy newborn and an energetic dog. I have an advantage that each are very understanding of the value for me to What do you see as the near-term put in a full day’s work (and more). On future for the mortgage banking weekends, at least for the time-being, industry?

I have been playing catch up with We are watching a slow escalation in them–and the Angels’ games on Fox. inflationary pressure and a consistent We are hoping in the near future to get rise in rates. This has resulted in a to the ballpark as a family.

Phil Hall is Managing Editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at PhilH@MortgageNewsNetwork.com

“No” I hen I saw the subject that the contributors were asked to write about this month, my mind psychologically salivated.

Actually, I’m not supposed to use the word I was thinking of, but you get the idea.

Marketing … my sweet spot … the part of the mortgage business I think about all the time. Imagine being a Loan Officer who really wants to be super successful. How can I get the word out to how many people that I’m an expert at what I do? I’m the best there ever was. That if someone refers a customer to me, someone who wants to buy a house, refinance, get a second mortgage, or just needs advice, what can be done to get masses of people to contact me … by mail, phone, carrier pigeon, dog sled, message tied to an arrow shot to my front door … it just doesn’t matter. Just so everyone possible does it.

I’ve studied this subject for about 50 years and I’m always drawn back to when I was just 19-years-old. I was sitting on the steps to the basement of South Jersey Abstract Company on Broadway in Camden, N.J. I was there to learn what I needed in order to pass the test to get my State real estate license. I forget how many hours we were required to take the course and it doesn’t matter because all I remember is that the teacher, Mel Funk, who was one of five partners in the company, was teaching us how to be salespeople. He was demonstrating in the most colorful language possible what we should do to get business.

The most important lesson that night was when he spread his hands in front of him, palms down and fingers spread wide. Picture this in your mind. Think about the fact that it was 1960 and I

W

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The

Mortgage

Godfather

” Is No Way to Go didn’t know anything about anything. All I thought I knew was that I wanted to be like my father. I wanted to be in the mortgage business. My dad was a Real Estate Broker, Builder, Mortgage Broker and Deal Maker like you’ve never met. He was a master at getting people to do business with him. Mel taught him everything.

So picture Mel, who was so respected in the South Jersey real estate market, there was no one, and I mean no one, who didn’t know him. And there I was, I’m figuratively sitting at the feet of the master … the man everyone wanted to do business with. There were no more than 25 people in that basement room that night.

That’s why I was on the steps.

So, he has his hands spread out in front of him and then takes his right-hand and points to the tips of the fingers on his left hand and then does the same with his left hand on his right-hand fingers and while he is doing this he says.

“This is the secret. This is what you need to do. If you want to make money, you need to be in as many places as possible all at the same time.

You need to be in front of as many people as you can be all at the same time. You need to spread yourself as thin as possible to spread the word that you’re around and available to do business with.”

I had no idea what he meant, but I never forgot it, just like when I went to work as a Loan Officer in 1972, and Bill Schor, my first boss, told me I had to visit 20 offices a day and keep records of my conversations, so I wouldn’t forget them. Yes, I’m not kidding, 20 offices a day!

Five days a week, 100 offices a week. Would you try it?

So, I’m in business for myself … it’s early in the 1990’s and I’ve got salespeople who I’m teaching how to make money.

I’m wanting to be Mel. One of the things I did was to insist that they stay out of the office and visit real estate offices every day. I tried to keep track of what they were doing, but I

“You’re in the business of persistence. If you cannot take ‘No’ for an answer, you better toughen up. I don’t care if people say ‘No’ 50 times, what I care about is that you don’t quit.” was busy doing my own business. Then, my son taught me how to use e-mail, and I started to think it was a pretty cool way to be in front of a bunch of people al at the same time. My son taught my salespeople how to use it and I started to insist that those same salespeople try to teach it to their real estate offices. That’s when we started to apply principles that I had learned so many years earlier. Instead of just my salespeople being required to send an e-mail to everyone they knew, I knew it would be something that every Realtor should also do every week. That easy, we became known as the place that people went to learn how to use their computer. Not only that, we were the place that had other ideas that would help Realtors do more business. That’s marketing. Help people do things they can’t or won’t do for themselves. It is no more complicated than that.

I’ve called all over the country and it’s a mix of how people work. There doesn’t seem to be any absolute as to how or where they work from. But to me, it doesn’t matter … just find them.

Engage with them. Stop looking for the quick fix. You think I was able to get business by visiting Realtors once or twice? It took months in some cases. It took years in others. It also took only four visits sometimes. But you want to market yourself? You want to make money? You want to know marketing?

You’re in the business of persistence. If you cannot take “No” for an answer, you better toughen up. I don’t care if people say “No” 50 times, what I care about is that you don’t quit. What I am letting you know is that you can buy all the fancy software you want, but if you don’t use it, you’ve wasted your money. LinkedIn is terrific, so is Facebook. Let’s talk about how you can use them to make money.

Who do you want to do business with … Realtors, Divorce Attorneys, Financial

BY RALPH LOVUOLO SR.

Advisors? Spend the time to add them to your connections on both applications. Send them ideas, better yet, go to visit them. Find them. Stop saying they’re not in the office because I don’t care about your little issue. You’re afraid of “No” and you won’t follow up. You won’t keep hammering away with an idea that will help them make more money. You want lower rates. You want new programs.

You want people to just give you because you’re a nice person. You have to work, spread out, go see people, find them, engage with them with ideas that help them, not you. I don’t want you to beg for business any more than any other coach. I want you to stop and think and if you cannot think of ways to get them to do business with you right away then keep hammering away with ideas that help them. Put them first. Make them believe you care about their success and actually do it.

You have no choice. Or you’ll have to quit. Give up. Never! I’m going to call a guy I’ve been trying to do business with for four years. I’m calling him right now.

Ralph LoVuolo Sr. has nearly 60 years history in the mortgage business. He was a Co-Founder/President of the NYAMB and a long-term member of the Board of Directors of NAMB. The Mortgage Godfather is available to help your salespeople do more business. He does sales rallies, Webinars, personal coaching. Call, text or e-mail (917) 5761230 or e-mail Ralph@MortgageGodfather.com.

We are once again looking for The Most Connected Mortgage Professionals.

These are individuals who have a large number of followers on Twitter or likes on Facebook or maybe have a very popular blog or video show.

These individuals will be featured in our July 2018 edition, which has a special focus on Social Media.

Go to http://nmpmag.com/mostconnected

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n NationalMortgageProfessional.com

The DIY Performance Revie Mortgage Professionals By

By Bubba Bubba Mil Mil

30

view for

ba ba Mills Mills

that didn’t work and why you think it didn’t work.

Now I’m going to put on my magician’s hat and tell you five skills that may lay at the root of every problem you wrote–skills that can make the difference between a glowing review and a review that, well, shows you the exit.

1. Adaptation: If you’re facing problems in your career, it may be that you’re not adapting to some sort of change in the marketplace or in the profession. From the first time a human hid behind a rock to avoid becoming a sabertoothed tiger’s lunch, to a mortgage pro in 2017 learning how to get new clients via Snapchat, it’s all about adapting. In fact, performance review documents usually include phrases like: “Employee demonstrates an ability to adapt to new or changing situations,” or “Employee demonstrates a willingness to accept and deal with change.” Make sure you can answer those questions with a resounding ‘yes.’

2. Job skills: You know better than anyone that mortgage pros need certain skills to be successful. Pull out the microscope and put your skills under it. What experience, training and education can help you be a better you in your job? Look back at your list of problems and see which ones might be solved with better skills.

3. Creativity: When change presents itself, are you able to bring resources to the table in a creative, useful way to handle change? Can you be innovative to overcome obstacles? If not, look for real-life examples of how top producers have tackled and responded to change. MBA students often read case studies for a reason: they give enduring and useful lessons on how to be more creative in the face of change.

4. Communication: You knew that one was coming. We hear about the problems poor communication cause almost daily. Again, return to your list of items that didn’t work so well and ask yourself if unclear or poor communication was a culprit. All of your communication–written and oral–with borrowers, co-workers, prospects, etc. must be clear and concise.

Sure, a long look in the mirror can be a bit unpleasant. But just like poor-tasting medicine, it often cures what ails you. Here’s to happy and healthy remainder of 2018!

Bubba Mills is Chief Executive Officer and Owner of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 957-8353 or visit CorcoranCoaching.com.

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2018

5. Productivity: You know that’s a biggie.

Are you getting it done? Are you reaching your goals regularly and consistently? Is your work acceptable, or better yet, award worthy. Always aim for the latter.

31

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Two words employees often dread are “Performance Review.”

Sure, getting your work nitpicked ranks right up there with colonoscopies. But because mortgage professionals basically work for themselves–even if they’re part of a well-known brokerage–many avoid reviews. Several have told me they’re glad about that.

But as unappetizing as reviews sound, they’re not a bad idea because you cannot improve if you don’t know how you’re doing in the first place.

Feedback feeds fruition.

So if you’re not facing a mandatory review at your office, I invite you to use this do-it-yourself performance review.

Here we go. Grab your pen and paper …

First up, your past. Specifically your 2017. Spend a few minutes writing down your successes … what worked in 2017 for you and why you think each success came to be. I’m a big proponent of celebrating successes. By all means, pop the cork on any and all to commemorate them.

But after you nurse your hangover, the important work begins: Writing down the problems from 2017.

Take a couple of hours for this one and jot down everything

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n NationalMortgageProfessional.com

NMPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

By Phil Hall

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Legends of Lending

“In five to 10 years, we’ll be one of the largest mortgage credit managers out there.”

—Mike Fierman, Managing Partner and Co-CEO, Angel Oak Companies

“Angel Oak has a culture of service.

Every lender might talk about good service, but we live and breathe it every single day.”

—Tom Hutchens, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions

his year marks the 10th anniversary of Angel Oak Companies focusing on credit opportunities within asset management, capital markets and mortgage lending. The Atlanta-based company has been an aggressive leader in reanimating the market for non-Qualified Mortgage (non-QM) loans through its three affiliated lending units: Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, Angel Oak Home Loans and Angel Oak Prime Bridge, which together surpassed $1.1 billion in non-QM originations in 2017.

The company has also been a vibrant presence in the securitization market—on April 4, the company completed AOMT 2018-1, a $328.78 million securitization comprised largely of non-QM residential mortgages and the largest of the company’s seven securitizations which comprise approximately $1.3 billion in total securitized residential mortgage loans.

On April 23, the company launched Angel Oak Commercial Lending LLC, which will provide both short- and long-term financing for projects across the commercial sector, including multifamily, industrial, mixed use, retail, office, self-storage and other specialized

T

“We decided to launch a venture that would bring non-agency back into the mainstream.”

“We plan to be programmatic issuers in the non-QM space, aiming at once per quarter.”

—Steven Schwalb, Managing Partner, Angel Oak Lending entities

—Lauren Hedvat, Capital Markets Director, Angel Oak Capital Advisors

segments. Ben Easterlin, Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending at Angel Oak, explained the new company was created due to a “lending void in specific segments of commercial real estate, especially those under $5 million in size—in many cases, banks may be constrained in their ability to make commercial real estate loans due to government regulations or corporate limitations on the types and amounts of loans they can issue.”

To discuss this company’s distinctive place within the mortgage industry, National Mortgage Professional Magazine spoke with several members of the company’s leadership team: Mike Fierman, Managing Partner and Co-CEO for Angel Oak Companies; Tom Hutchens, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions; Steven Schwalb, Managing Partner of the Angel Oak Lending entities; Lauren Hedvat, Capital Markets Director for Angel Oak Capital Advisors; and Steven Winokur, Chief Marketing Officer for Angel Oak Companies.

Where did the Angel Oak story begin?

Mike Fierman: Angel Oak started as a distressed hedge fund in late

2008, focusing on pre-crisis, nonagency mortgage-backed securities assets. I previously was a partner and Co-Founder of South Star Funding, and later, saw a market for selling these assets that were still performing. In 2009, one of the funds was paying up to four percent a month on income—and it continued to do that for quite some time. But with every year, the market became less distressed.

And today, Angel Oak is managing a variety of funds totaling over $8.5 billion, mostly mortgage-related and all credit-related.

Why did you opt to follow this business model?

Tom Hutchens: Everybody talks about how the pendulum swung after the crisis, and how it became such a tight market. We saw many, many potential homeowners left out of the market because of how far the pendulum swung. Our mission has been to find responsible homebuyers and connect them to private capital.

When did Angel Oak Home Loans enter the picture?

Steven Schwalb: By 2010, we realized that the industry was no longer making non-agency loans.

We decided to launch a venture that would bring non-agency back

“We’re growing like crazy, but we hire slowly. We take our time to make sure we have the right people in the right roles.”

—Steven Winokur, Chief Marketing Officer, Angel Oak Companies

into the mainstream. We started as a retail-only shop before adding wholesale, doing the loans that were not being done in the marketplace. We began with one person—that person was me—and now we have 372 employees across all the lending entities.

How did investors react when Angel Oak began securitizing these non-agency loans?

Lauren Hedvat: There was a very strong appetite from investors when we started our first securitization in December 2015.

Unlike pre-crisis sub-prime, this is a very different product now, and the underwriting guidelines are completely different. Plus, verification for income is certainly not done in the same way that it used to be.

We are one decade removed from the Great Recession, yet the non-agency market is nowhere near its pre-recession levels. Why is a full recovery taking so long?

Mike Fierman: Most lenders have been very busy just doing Fannie and Freddie agency-type loans.

They didn’t want to get involved with other products.

Steven Winokur: One reason the continued on page 37

heard street on the

Our Heard on the Street column is a chronicle of events, changes and passages in the lives of the people and companies shaping the mortgage industry.

Angel Oak Enjoys Record Q1

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Angel Oak Companies kicked off 2018 with record growth, revamped products and new hires for its three affiliated lending units, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, Angel Oak Home Loans and Angel Oak Prime Bridge. Angel Oak’s successful start to the first quarter of 2018 includes a record of $340 million in non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) originations, a 62 percent increase over Q1 2017, in addition to the hiring of 59 new employees to its lending platform. Angel Oak now has its sights set on more than doubling its year-over-year non-QM volume, from $1.1 billion in 2017 to $2.5 billion in 2018.

“We’re setting the standard when it comes to non-QM lending,” said Steven Schwalb, Managing Partner of the Angel Oak lending platform. “Across the mortgage industry, more and more participants are realizing just how fast this segment is growing. We are the leaders because we have been offering innovative, highquality non-QM products for years.

Our success today is a direct result of the expertise we’ve built.”

In addition to record origination numbers, Angel Oak Capital Advisors completed two unique mortgage securitizations this year.

The first of its kind, AOMT 2018PB1 was a $90 million securitization backed by “fix-and-flip” loans originated by Angel Oak Prime Bridge, which featured an 18month revolving period in which paid collateral is replaced with new collateral. The second securitization, AOMT 2018-1, totaled $328.78 million and was Angel Oak Capital Advisors’ seventh and largest mortgage

securitization to date. These two securitizations highlight Angel Oak Capital Advisors’ experience and leadership in a demand-fueled marketplace.

In the wholesale channel, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, which has paved the path in the revival of quality non-prime products, recorded its best origination numbers in Q1. Part of this success came from expansion of the correspondent channel and its product innovations, including the Platinum Program, a go-to solution for brokers looking to add unique tools to their arsenal. Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions also added a new Dallas operations center, positioning the firm for continued growth as it leads the charge in new markets with an even larger team.

“We’re carving out a clear leadership position in the non-QM space by hiring top-tier people and bringing the best products to market,” said Schwalb. “Over the last year, we’ve seen non-QM lending become more widely accepted than any other time in the post-crisis period. As more players enter the space, many will attempt to emulate our success. However, our expertise, our commitment to quality and our unique structure sets Angel Oak apart from the competition.

DocMagic’s eVault Technology to be Utilized by Deutsche Bank

DocMagic has announced that Deutsche Bank has successfully

implemented and is actively utilizing its proprietary eVault technology.

“Deutsche Bank has an international footprint in multiple forms of lending and servicing, and having a company of their size select our eVault to safely and securely store sensitive loan documents speaks volumes about the bank’s confidence in our technology,” said Dominic Iannitti, President and Chief Executive Officer of DocMagic.

“We are very pleased to partner with Deutsche Bank on a longterm basis to help achieve its servicing goals with our eVault.”

Using the DocMagic eVault, Deutsche Bank’s document custody group is now empowered to take full possession of electronicallyoriginated assets for clients as the loan market continues to transition to a paperless process.

DocMagic establishes a legally compliant method to securely move original electronic files from one custodian to another, while preserving unique authoritative digital ownership.

DocMagic also made available to Deutsche Bank the ability to leverage a unique dual-option solution that accesses its onpremise eVault installation to provide a gateway to seamlessly and securely connect to MERS via any browser, as well as by way of a direct VPN connection.

As a result of partnering with DocMagic, Deutsche Bank is now well-positioned to easily, compliantly and securely service loans housed in the eVault, creating newfound efficiencies

and a competitive advantage for the bank. By providing eVault services to Deutsche Bank’s clients, they further cement themselves as a leader, innovator and provider of excellence in loan servicing. Of note is that DocMagic has been at the forefront of developing awardwinning technology that facilitates a complete eMortgage solution for the entire supply chain that fully supports an endto-end, completely paperless digital mortgage process. This includes from the point-of-sale through eClosing, eWarehouse lending, secondary marketing and even servicing.

Caliber Forms Partnership With FirstFunding

Caliber Home Loans has announced a new partnership with FirstFunding, a provider of warehouse facilities for nondelegated correspondent lenders.

Together, Caliber and FirstFunding will bring Caliber Express Connect to meet one of the industry’s biggest concerns– providing viable, secure and accelerated solutions for its lenders.

With Caliber Express Connect, First Funding’s system is integrated with Caliber’s loan origination system to empower the correspondent lender to pass the loan information and image documents directly from Caliber to FirstFunding, reducing the need for lenders to manually enter data and upload loan documents. This results in a seamless platform that allows the Correspondent lender to have more control, reduce submission

errors, deliver faster closing times to their borrowers, and lower their overall costs.

“We are very excited to partner with FirstFunding and announce the launch of Caliber Express Connect,” said Phil Shoemaker, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Production for Caliber Home Loans. “It leverages our top-notch origination platform exclusively with FirstFunding’s system to drive an entirely faster and seamless funding process for the non-delegated correspondent lender. This type of integration that brings automation between a lender and warehouse facility is long overdue in the non-delegated correspondent space and we are excited that Caliber and FirstFunding are leading the way.”

performing AVMs chosen specifically for the particular subject property. Based upon machine learning in a production environment, the VeroPRECISION decision engine determines the most accurate valuation at the subject property level. Unlike traditional cascade approaches that employ county level look-up tables, VeroPRECISION makes its AVM determinations at the specific property level.

“This is much more than a one-stop service that covers valuation reports for the full spectrum of home equity lending

needs,” said Jeremy McCarty, Valligent’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Valuation Strategist. “It’s also a way for lenders to ensure that their valuation processes are fully compliant with all of the related regulations.”

Angel Oak Branches Into the Commercial Lending Space

Angel Oak Companies has announced the launch of Angel Oak Commercial Lending LLC, which will provide financing to

commercial real estate owners, developers and investors. Angel Oak Commercial Lending will provide both short- and longterm financing for projects across the commercial sector, including multifamily, industrial, mixed use, retail, office, self-storage and other specialized segments.

“There is a lending void in specific segments of commercial real estate, especially those under $5 million in size,” said Ben Easterlin, Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending at Angel Oak. “In many cases, continued on page 37

Veros and Valligent Partner to Offer AVM and eValuation Services

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Veros Real Estate Solutions has announced that it has partnered with Valligent, an innovator in nontraditional appraisals and appraisal review services, to provide a complete solution in collateral valuation and analytics that will enable lenders to cut costs and increase operational efficiency.

The companies’ services will be integrated through VeroPRECISION, the nextgeneration AVM decisioning product Veros introduced last October. VeroPRECISION uses sophisticated data analysis to first determine a subject property’s suitability for an automated valuation model (AVM).

Independent testing shows that, while 70 percent to 80 percent of property valuations are best handled by AVMs, the balance require hands-on analysis through an alternative, such as a desktop, drive-by, or traditional appraisal.

“With rising home prices increasing the amount of available equity, and rising mortgage rates making a new purchase less attractive, homeowners are increasingly choosing to remain in and remodel their homes,” said Robert Walker CMB, CMT, Vice President of Sales at Veros. “By partnering with Valligent, we have given VerosPRECISION a seamless, integrated fulfillment process that takes it far ahead of any other AVM service.”

In cases where VeroPRECISION instantly deems a property appropriate for AVM valuation, those customers will immediately receive one of the industry’s top

Independent Mortgage Originators

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

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Matt Jolivette Associated Mortgage Brokers I’m excited to introduce BrokerNATION, a new series of articles and interviews with Independent Mortgage Brokers across the United States. This monthly piece will cover a variety of topics all around the wholesale lending channel and independent origination in the primary mortgage market today.

To begin this series, I thought I’d start in my own backyard by interviewing Matt Jolivette (NMLS#: 86136/NMLS#: 90661) of Associated Mortgage Brokers (AssociatedMortgage.com) based in Portland, Ore. Associated Mortgage Brokers has been in business since 1989 and certainly has the traditional roots of a local Mortgage Broker. Matt has been in the mortgage business for the last 18 years through the highs and lows of this industry.

If you could describe the benefits of being a Mortgage Broker in one word what would that word be?

Nimble.

“Nimble” is defined as “Quick and light in movement or action.” Can you expand what being nimble means to you as a Mortgage Broker?

Any time we have been faced with regulatory changes, we have implemented change immediately. We don’t have to form a focus group consisting of attorneys to figure out how to implement with months of testing and changing software. Another example is with our borrowers … you don’t have to only apply online as we can work over the phone, you can come in the office to meet in-person, or a mixture of everything.

However a consumer likes to work, we can accommodate. We can add technology and still keep up our strong customer service. This is something large scale operations cannot do.

In today’s rising market environment with margin compression and consolidation, do you find being nimble even more valuable today?

Certainly. More so now than ever. Our company is built on being able to survive recessions, as I believe most broker shops are. We control our costs. I have always found it amazing that large scale operations have a hard time competing at our level, and it all comes down to ability to manage your overhead and to make internal adjustments immediately. If we have to reduce our compensation to remain competitive, we can, and we will outlast the largest scale operations with hundreds of Loan Officers sitting in a call center.

In a purchase market like we’re in, what benefits do you find are available to buyers that use a nimble independent Mortgage Broker?

We answer our phones, return phone calls, and we respond to e-mails directly. Our clients are not just another ticket holder waiting to be called upon and then passed down to the next available representative who does have the personal connection. We actually care what our borrowers think. If a lender we work with has made repeated mistakes, is slow to respond, or has other nuances that can slow down a transaction, we move on. I am not filling out a new resume seeking new employment.

The lender is fired and I am on to the next lender that is competing for my business. Also, I believe most brokers are priced very competitively (see overhead response above). Again, if we are not close in pricing with the lenders we like to work with, we shop to see if another lender has a better price or in a competitive situation, we negotiate directly with the consumer on a borrower paid transaction. This is all a benefit to the buyer, as we are fighting to make this process as cost-effective and efficient as possible.

What are some ways you operationally take advantage of your position, as well as in marketing for new clients?

This really comes down to the whole subject of being nimble. We have wholesale lenders who step up and give us value added benefits, such as the credit monitoring, or marketing materials and technology. If a wholesale lender is giving us these items for the cost of business, Mortgage Brokers are saving money and I am saving my customers money, which drives our business. I can put this back into the business to market back to our clients and drive referrals.

Are you an Independent Mortgage Broker? Do you have something you’d like to share? Reach out to me at AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com for future article considerations.

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is President and Owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and Past President of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 4960431, e-mail AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com or visit VantageMortgageGroup.com.

heard on the street

banks may be constrained in their ability to make commercial real estate loans due to government regulations or corporate limitations on the types and amounts of loans they can issue. Angel Oak Commercial Lending will be a viable solution to provide capital for deserving property developers, owners and investors in commercial real estate.”

Over his 20-year career, Easterlin has provided, arranged or consulted on more than $3 billion of debt and equity placements while working at several previous lending firms.

Angel Oak Commercial Lending will follow the success of the firm’s residential lending businesses, particularly in the non-QM market, where Angel Oak’s lending affiliates combined to issue over $1.1 billion in nonQM loans in 2017.

“Angel Oak has an established track record of providing financing in constrained and dislocated markets and sees commercial lending as the next extension of this line of thinking,” Easterlin said.

New Penn Acquires Envoy’s Correspondent Lending Division

Lending Division of Envoy Mortgage has created value for its correspondent partners by providing expert guidance and lending solutions. Backed by more than 250 combined years of delegated and non-delegated Correspondent Lending experience, the management team knows the importance of exceeding expectations and providing lender partners with exceptional customer service.

“We are very excited about joining the New Penn family,” said Dan Hastings, Executive Vice President of Envoy’s Correspondent Lending Division.

“I’m proud of our group and what we’ve built over the last five years. In addition to the new products and servicing capabilities offered by New Penn, this amazing opportunity will allow us to further grow and expand our Correspondent Channel.”

The new division will conduct business under the name “New Penn Financial National Correspondent Lending Division.”

New Penn will continue operating its Wholesale and Emerging Banker Lending Group as part of its TPO Division.

legends of lending

continued from page 33

non-QM loan market hasn’t grown as quickly is because there is still a negative perception attached to it.

Steven Schwalb: We’ve been at historic all-time lows with rates.

Loan Officers had all barrels pointed to easy refinances and easy purchases.

What is your forecast for the industry now that interest rates are finally beginning to rise?

Tom Hutchens: Even before the current increases, we were expecting the market for non-QM product to double in 2018. Now, it has the potential of exceeding that.

The interest level is growing greater and greater every day.

Ensuring high-quality customer service is always a challenge in any industry. How do you approach this issue?

Tom Hutchens: Angel Oak has a culture of service. Every lender might talk about good service, but we live and breathe it every single day. We encourage our origination partners to have direct phone call communication with our underwriters. That’s not a standard in the industry. So, we’re looking for people who have that “service first” mentality.

Where do you see the mortgage industry heading in the next 12 months? Where do you see your company in this upcoming period?

Mike Fierman: In five to 10 years, we’ll be one of the largest mortgage credit managers out there. Today, we’re at $8.7 billion, and we expect to be $30 billion to $50 billion in the future.

Tom Hutchens: What we’re spearheading will continue, and could grow into a $150 billion to $200 billion annual market segment. There’s still a lot of room for growth. Also, technology continues to be an important factor for the entire industry, and it is streamlining the mortgage process very effectively. As for us, we are seeing a big demand through our correspondent channel. A lot of companies want to partner with us to expand their product offerings.

Lauren Hedvat: On the securitization side, we’ve done six non-QM transactions, and four of the six were rated. We plan to be programmatic issuers in the nonQM space, aiming at once per quarter.

continued on page 43

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Let’s talk about Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions as a business. How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Steven Winokur: I love that question! For starters … our experience in this space. We’ve seen people copy our programs and marketing materials, but we find companies cannot copy our service levels. We built the company to make sure Loan Officers and Mortgage Brokers have a fantastic experience. Many of them come back and ask us to do conventional AFR Wholesale Partners and government loans because they With Blend on Digital enjoy working with us so much on Mortgage Solution the non-QM ones.

Tom Hutchens: We bring different products to the market. We’re a non-QM, non-agency lender only.

AFR Wholesale, a division of That’s all we do, all day. The American Financial Resources competition may offer similar Inc., has announced a partnership products, but they also offer agency with Blend to offer the company’s and government products. We’re digital mortgage solution to AFR’s solely focused on non-agency. independent broker partner network.

Does your focus also include Blend enhances Mortgage reverse mortgages?

If you were to define Angel Oak Brokers’ ability to deliver a fully Mike Fierman: No. To be honest, I in a single word, what would that digital customer experience, while don’t know about it. It has never word be? automating many of the steps of been of interest to me. Plus, there Tom Hutchens: Innovative. We the mortgage process. Blend will seems to be plenty of firms already enable AFR’s brokers to operate serving the reverse mortgage space. started offering non-QM before others, and we continue to be at out of one singular system, taking the forefront. customer applications, receiving What does Angel Oak look for in Steven Winokur: Entrepreneurial. documentation, pricing loans, and potential employees? processing easily, with just a few Steven Winokur: We’re growing like We’ve been pushing the envelope and trying new things–for example, clicks. The process will integrate crazy, but we hire slowly. We take we just launched a commercial up to five different steps that our time to make sure we have the lending company. We are brokers currently have to take right people in the right roles. We’re constantly looking for areas of the into a single user-friendly making sure we bring the right platform. people on board and not just adding market that are underserved and “At AFR Wholesale, we bodies … that’s the only way we can building businesses to reach that continue to make significant scale the business we way we have. audience. investments to aid in the success Phil Hall is Managing Editor of National Mortgage Professional of our business partners by Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at providing industry-leading PhilH@MortgageNewsNetwork.com.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

New Penn Financial has announced its acquisition of the Envoy’s Correspondent Lending Division. The addition of Envoy Correspondent Lending rounds out the organization’s business channels, which include existing origination channels in Call Center, Joint Venture, Retail, and Wholesale.

“Finding a partner that shares our values in quality and client service was extremely important to us in building out this division,” said Kevin Harrigan, New Penn’s President. “The Envoy team has demonstrated consistent business growth and earned a solid industry reputation and a loyal client base. We’re thrilled to join with an organization that is already excelling in this space. We’re excited to welcome the Envoy Correspondent team to the New Penn Financial family and look forward to having them help us expand our presence in the Correspondent Lending arena.”

Since 2013, the Correspondent

continued from page 35

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ScalaBOOTY

By Eric Weinstein

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ately, I have been thinking of different Mortgage Broker shop business models and the scalability of each.

Scalability is a new Millennial buzzword for growing the company. Booty is an old generation term for making money. I call it “ScalaBOOTY,” growing a company and making tons of money. Hey, Shakespeare invented words, why can’t I? All it takes is to add it to my spell check dictionary.

As the previous Owner of a large mortgage company, our tent was big enough to support different ways of generating and processing mortgage business.

We had a lot of different branches doing different things under our one big model. I noticed a distinct pattern between the Branch Manager’s personality and how they grew (or did not.)

The models are based on the extremes of a centralized or a decentralized organization. Of course, there are a myriad of models in between based on the manager’s individual traits.

L

One man band To the other extreme, we had Loan Officers who got the loan, processed the file and did the entire process themselves start to finish. This is an easy operation to clone and scales very fast because it is decentralized. Of course, the more decentralized an organization gets, the more risk, as chaos theory teaches us. I could tell you stories you would not believe. I had one Branch Manager with a business card that said “President.” I told him that was MY job title, not his. It is much easier for a Loan Officer to commit fraud, exaggerate marketing or get lead astray in their own home than in an office.

It takes a VERY trusting, if not naïve, soul to risk their license on people you don’t really know. I am sure Ted Bundy would have interviewed very well as a Branch Manager with this type of company. Note this well, if you have this type of personality trait.

The benefit, of course, is that has tremendous ScalaBOOTY. It is easy and inexpensive to grow fast. This is at the extreme other end of the controlling manager personality trait scale.

Conclusion None of these models are inherently good or bad, right or wrong. It is just interesting to me how a manager’s style and a company’s business orientation will reflect the person at the top’s inherent personality trait.

This is what I think about. The only thing this is meant to explain is why I am not invite to parties or have any friends.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States. Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail EWeinstein4U@gmail.com.

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Traditional set up When I first started in 1991, this was just the way all mortgage companies were set up. There were no computers, the 1003 was initially handwritten and then painstakingly typed with an IBM Selectric. You had your Loan Officers who were typically men and your processors who were typically female. Hey, it was 1991, give me a break! The office was set up similar to your brain. The left side analytical, logical half were the processors. The right side were the artistic and creative salesmen Loan Officers.

Depending on who generated the leads, Loan Officer pay was varied. Self-generated leads are worth more to management than office-generated leads.

This became the difference in being either a salesman or an “order taker.” As with anything, the more the Loan Officer could be self-sufficient, the more value they brought to the organization and was paid accordingly.

This would be a middle of the road type of personality. Some decentralized Loan Officer independence while maintaining a semblance of centralized processing control. This probably explains why it is currently the most popular way of running a mortgage company. Some control, but not total control … The Goldilocks Zone.

Scalability in this type of company goes in spurs and plateaus. Enough new business must first be obtained to warrant the organism to mitosis (a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells).

Then, unused capacity must be sated before another division can occur. The office must

generate enough business to warrant the creation of either another new office or expansion with the required lease, furniture, telephone lines, etc. additional startup costs.

ScalaBOOTY is huge as some of the big, TV advertising mortgage operations can attest.

Pretty much infinite.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Assembly line This is a very centralized system that usually requires a brick and mortar location. In this model, there is usually one person who I like to call “The Head.” His or her job is to solely talk to the customer and seal the deal.

There is another person who does the marketing. Another to take the application. Still another to process and close the transaction.

It was said that if you ever saw “The Head” making copies, you were to physically tackle and drag them back to the phone.

Everyone had a specialized job and got better with routine.

Henry Ford would be proud.

This model does, however, have limitations. At some point, “The Head” will only be able to field a finite amount of calls in the day, no matter how large that number may be. It is limited in its scalability. I believe this set up originates from the personality trait some managers have that “No one can do it as good as me.” To scale this operation, you would have to find another “Head” and clone the set up. Of course, no other “Head” they will find will do it as good as the original “Head,” so a new manager can never be found.

As you can imagine, this type of organization has a large fixed cost, such as employee salaries,

rent, phones, etc., but gets very profitable after breakeven is met … very profitable. But this model is not with infinite ScalaBOOTY—it is limited by the manager’s own personality trait.

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Five Free Ways to Generate New Business Instantly

By Brian Sacks

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e all want to generate more business right? Silly question I know, but based on the conversations I have with other Originators, we also want to generate this new business quickly, without much effort, and of course, with no out of pocket cash.

Let me share with you five ways to generate new deals and relationships quickly and without spending any money. Honestly, I know what it’s like to have a ton of money and I also know what it’s like not to have any at all.

W

First though … a reality check Sorry, I just have to get this off my chest. If you truly want to succeed you must invest in your business in two ways.

First, you must invest in education about the industry and also about marketing— salesmanship and persuasion. To say it a little more simply, you must know your programs and guidelines and you must also know how to “sell yourself” and persuade others to use you instead of your competition. I actually have an entire course on this called the “Loan Officer Unfair Edge” that tells totally with the psychological part of our jobs and persuasion tactics that few others know.

Second, you must invest in marketing. The good news is that if you are one of my Top Originator Mastermind members or subscribers, then you have already been exposed to marketing that makes every penny you invest accountable and trackable to you.

It’s ridiculous to be in business and think you will make six figures without investing in your own business. I suggest setting aside 10 percent of each paycheck to invest in your business. You can also take out a loan and view it as a business loan or educational loan. That will motivate you to make it happen!

Okay, now that this topic is off my chest, let me share five simple and fast no-cost ways to start generating some new business and relationships.

Method 1: Pick up the phone and grab a pen and paper While the whole world is now communicating with texts, Instant Messenger and other online and impersonal methods, why not go ahead and be different? Go old school for a change.

Pick up the phone and hold an actual conversation with an agent

or a potential referral source.

Write them a letter and mail it.

Yes, there are actually still mailboxes scattered around your city.

Go meet them in person and have a conversation so you can find out if you are a good fit and can work together. Get in your car and drive to them or have them meet you in your office.

Actually one of the best methods is getting active in your own Board of Realtors and homebuilders associations.

Call and visit or write a letter to agents and referral sources you haven’t worked with in a while.

Write a letter to your past clients or call them to see how they are doing and if they know of anyone who they can refer you to?

Method 2: Join a group or charity I have always been active in many charitable organizations and have been president of many of them. I don’t mention this to brag, but rather to tell you that when you do good, good things happen.

Get active in your religious organization, schools, civic organizations and others. While doing good, let people know what you do for a living. You will likely also find many professionals, including Realtors, Builders, Financial Planners and Attorneys who are also active.

The beauty of this idea is that you are building relationships with other charitable and good people.

You have a mission in common.

You will now get to know them personally because of your involvement. These are people you would likely never ever meet or get to know under any other circumstance.

This strategy also allows you the opportunity to get some great free publicity and while that should not be your sole motivation it certainly is a good result.

Method 3: Teach a class to professionals and agents This is one of the top no cost methods to position yourself as an expert. No begging or expensive lunches. Find a great topic and teach.

For example, I teach a course to Realtors for continuing credit hours on “How to Sell More Homes to Boomerang Buyers and Others With Credit Challenges.” Yes, lunch and learns and office meetings are also great, but they require you to buy food and incur other expenses.

When you teach continuing credit hours, the Board of Realtors pays for advertising the class to fill

it up. You use their conference room or facility and they issue the continuing credit hours.

You show up, teach for 90 minutes and you will leave with that group of Realtors seeing you as an expert. Simple and powerful with zero out of pocket cost to you.

Method 4: Become a celebrity expert (free PR, create a podcast) This is one of my favorite strategies, but it does require some expertise in a specific niche and knowledge of how the media works. All media outlets, including radio, television, print publications and online sites are always searching for new stories.

Your job is to present them with the story that has a hook. For example, let’s say you are the expert in working with the creditchallenged or Boomerang Buyers.

Another idea is just to comment and give your take on what’s happening in your local market or to the interest rate markets.

You could contact the editors or publishers and offer to provide them with an interview or statistics or an article on how buyers can now purchase a home one day after a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale.

You could also be a guest on a local TV news station, or a radio show as I have done. In fact, I have been on 42 radio shows and helped more than 29 other originators set up and structure their own weekly radio shows so they dominate their markets.

You could create a book on the topic and also have a weekly podcast.

All of these position you as a celebrity, but the key is having a great hook and also believing in yourself as the actual expert.

There are Web sites out there that connect reporters with experts in different industries so they can be used as a resource when the reporters need a story or a quote.

Once you have this free PR

make sure you use it in all of your marketing and promotional efforts.

Method 5: Create a Webinar or teleseminar One of the things I find difficult is filling up a room with buyers who are wanting information about buying a home. The truth is that, most of the time, the Loan Officer, Title Rep and Realtor wind up eating the donuts and drinking the coffee waiting an hour, and then leaving bloated and disappointed at the poor turnout.

If you live in an area where there are all four seasons than you also have the weather to contend with which often prevents people from coming out at all. When it’s nice they want to do outdoor activities and when it’s cold or snowing, they won’t come out.

One of the best ways I have found to address this concern is to provide educational sessions via Webinar and teleseminars. We thankfully live in an age of technology where many of these services are actually free and provide great value. One in particular is FreeConferenceCall.com.

You can use social media posts on LinkedIn, Facebook and even Pinterest to get people to attend your homebuyer workshops.

Oftentimes, you will find better attendance than a live homebuyer session because people can remain anonymous and learn from the comfort of their homes.

So there you have it. Five no cost ways to generate new relationships and business. Each and every one of these strategies I personally use and have taught to my members and subscribers, and my coaching clients.

But remember one thing … once you do start generating new business, start setting aside a special account so you can scale this. Take 10 percent of every commission check and put it into this account so you can continue to be seen as the go-to Originator in your market.

Brian Sacks is a nationally-renowned mortgage expert who has career closing of more than 5,924 transactions for more than $1 billion. He has trained, consulted and coached tens of thousands of loan officers and company owners over the past 32 years on how to close more loans, make more money, and still have a life. Brian is the host of “Top Originator Secrets,” which can be seen weekly on Mortgage News Network and on his blog. You can get more information and grab your free report on “How to Get Agents Chasing You” at TopOriginatorSecrets.com and learn more about the Top Originator Mastermind at TopOriginatorMastermind.com.

Addressing Post-Housing Crisis Issues

Connecting MLOs with HUD-Approved Housing Counselors Can Be a Game Changer

BY PAM MARRON

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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ndividual Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs) can refer clients who need short- and long-term help with credit to HUDapproved housing counselors often located within your area. Many can offer services remotely.

Getting credit issues resolved is the biggest obstacle that many current and prospective homebuyers face and some of these issues are unique to the housing crisis. Some issues aren’t even visible on a credit report, such as the foreclosure code that shows up on past short sale credit, on deeds-inlieu and for excessive mortgage late payments. And consumers and their lenders are often unaware of the problems that occur when a “dispute” needs to be taken off credit. Deleting a “dispute” results in a credit score drop which can also result in a higher interest rate when old credit returns. And a loss of contract and/or expensive Rapid Rescore costs can occur while the “dispute” gets deleted.

A new issue heard of in states such as Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico is lender requirement of a full repayment now for the 90-day forbearance of mortgage payments allowed for affected mortgage holders who could not make their mortgage payment due to the 2017 hurricanes. On

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forbearances, some lenders require that these homeowners go delinquent to get a remedy … if their credit has not already been harmed due to delinquent mortgage credit reported.

Housing counseling agencies can intervene to help with this.

For years, credit repair companies have been the only known option to deal with credit issues. However, mortgage industry professionals must often undo temporary and costly fixes applied by these companies.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac automated systems pick up on changes applied to credit and Freddie Mac requires that disputes, the most common fix applied, be deleted.

HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agencies (HCAs) provide credit assistance that ranges from free to low cost. So how can 365,000-plus licensed individual Mortgage Loan Originators utilize housing counseling services, and specifically for credit help, to get credit challenged clients “mortgage ready?”

A few initiatives have been recently launched to explore the best way to do this. Some known issues exist. For instance, client management systems can differ between HCAs and not all are set up to accept an individual licensed referring Mortgage Broker that is not attached to an individual Mortgage Lender. And

a universal client-signed release of information form that allows for the individual Mortgage Loan Originator (in addition to a lender) to be able to access client progress is needed. For these and other issues, solutions are being sought.

So why is connecting a Mortgage Loan Originator with a Housing Counselor who can assist clients with credit issues so important? Low credit scores, no credit scores and credit issues limit the best mortgage options for consumers. Loan Originators who can assist clients needing help with credit issues are highly sought out by Realtors. But the level of Loan Originator assistance depends on their experience and interest. As interest rates rise, more consumers have inquired about purchasing a home and a variety of credit issues have returned. It makes sense to be able to have a valid referral resource where clients with short and long-term credit issues can be worked with to get them “mortgage ready.”

One of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States is already referring consumers who have been declined to HCAs to

get these clients “mortgage ready.” Why aren’t individual Mortgage Loan Originators doing the same for Realtor-referred clients and for their own client base? The answer may be that lenders are able to provide Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) funds to financially support this. But Mortgage Loan Originators can provide a credit towards mortgage closing costs for consumers who need to pay for services upfront to an HCA. Instead of ending communication on a client who cannot get a mortgage now, refer them to a housing counseling agency that can let you know when the client is ready for a mortgage. Better yet, keep in touch with the HCA on the progress of your client, encourage the client when needed, and report back to the referring Realtor on the progress of their future client. You are assisting your Realtors with future business!

Disclaimer: While I am a member of the HUD Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee, the opinions noted are those of the authors only.

Pam Marron (NMLS#: 246438) is Senior Loan Originator with Innovative Mortgage Services Inc. (NMLS#: 250769) in Tampa Bay, Fla. She may be reached by phone at (727) 3758986, e-mail PMarron@InnovativeMortgage.onmicrosoft.com or visit HousingCrisisStories.com, CloseWithPam.com or 8Problems.com.

heard on the street

technology, professional expertise and education, as well as unbeatable, world-class customer experience,” said Laura Brandao, AFR’s Chief Operating Officer. “The partnership with Blend is a perfect fit for our ongoing technology-driven corporate strategy. Offering the latest technology platforms to our broker partners allows them to conduct business from anywhere, on any device, with ease and efficiency.”

Bill Packer, Executive Vice President at American Financial Resources, said, “Technology continues to transform our lives now more than ever, our brokers require tools that simplify and streamline seemingly complex tasks such as interacting with multiple lenders. The implementation of Blend’s platform not only underscores the pioneering mindset American Financial Resources has displayed throughout our over 20-year history, but also the commitment to ensuring an optimal experience for our broker partners.”

LenderLive Buys reQuire Holding LLCs

LenderLive’s financial advisor and Ballard Spahr LLP acted as legal counsel to LenderLive in connection with the acquisition.

Stone Point Acquires Majority Stake in American Mortgage Consultants

CoreLogic Acquires Appraisal Software Firm CoreLogic has announced the completion of its acquisition of a la mode technologies LLC, an Oklahoma

Total Expert and Blend Announce Partnership

Total Expert has announced a partnership with Blend, a provider of digital mortgage workflows, to improve the loan application process for Loan Officers and consumers. The partnership enables data integration between Total Expert and Blend, allowing Loan Officers to originate mortgage loans more efficiently and transparently while building stronger relationships with customers.

“Partnering with Total Expert is

an exciting opportunity for us, as they are clearly a leader when it comes to marketing operating systems built specifically for the unique needs of the financial services industry,” said Blend Head of Business Development Brian Martin. “The Total Expert team has very high standards for their solutions. We are both constantly innovating, and we at Blend are excited for what this partnership with Total Expert will mean for the future of lending.”

Loan Officers using both Total Expert and Blend can now provide their prospects and borrowers within the Total Expert application a seamless, branded and fully-trackable experience through Blend when applying for a loan. Data coming from any source can be passed into Total Expert, and now, directly back into Blend to give customers a transparent view into their lending experience.

“We are proud to partner with another technology leader that continues to push the boundaries,” said Joe Welu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Total Expert. “Blend is a best-of-breed technology solution that is laser focused on improving the consumer loan process. We are excited about how our integration will position Loan Officers for future growth and help everyday Americans accomplish their American dream.”

Premium Title Expands National Footprint

Premium Title has announced that it has secured escrow licensing in Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. This additional licensing expands the business’ footprint and allows Premium Title to now provide clients with direct title/settlement services in 45 states plus Washington, D.C. “We are dedicated to delivering a scalable suite of title and escrow services that help our customers drive efficiency, responsiveness and process controls required in today’s competitive market,” said James Weld, President of Premium Title.

“Securing our licenses in these additional states is a milestone for Premium Title. It enables us to provide greater access—on a national scale—to the services customers need to help expedite continued on page 50

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n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2018

American Mortgage Consultants (AMC) has announced that funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC have acquired a majority stake in AMC. Founded in 1996, AMC provides a wide array of services relating to residential mortgage transactions, including securitization review, loan diligence and consulting services.

AMC uses a technology-enabled approach to efficiently and costeffectively provide services to its clients. AMC services more than 200 active clients and has evaluated over $150 billion of residential loans since 2016.

“We are excited to begin our partnership with Stone Point, which will enable the continued growth of the AMC platform to meet the demands of our clients,” said AMC Chief Executive Officer Michael Franco.

“AMC’s commitment to enhancing the breadth, depth, and quality of our existing service and technology offerings will only be enhanced with the completion of this transaction. We look forward to expanding our role as a strategic partner for market participants throughout the mortgage loan lifecycle with innovative solutions to meet the demands of tomorrow’s markets.”

Chuck Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Stone Point, said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Michael and the AMC team. We have a long history of investing in the real estate technology and services sector and see significant growth opportunities for the company. We look forward to working with the talented team at AMC to help support the company in its continued growth.”

City-based software provider serving the appraisal industry.

The terms of the acquisition were not made public.

“The acquisition of a la mode is an important next step in the development and scaling of our end-to-end valuation solutions workflow suite which includes data and market insights, analytics as well as data-enabled services and platforms,” said Frank Martell, CoreLogic President and Chief Executive Officer. “a la mode tools and solutions help to make our professional appraiser community more productive and efficient. The addition of a la mode to our existing workflow and technology offerings also provides CoreLogic with a seamless digital platform for ordering, preparing, quality assuring and delivering property valuations and allows us to expand the connectivity between a number of the major constituencies in the mortgage underwriting ecosystem.”

Separately, the Irvine, Calif.based CoreLogic announced that its Credco Instant Merge credit report is now available on BeSmartee, a mortgage point-ofsale platform. This is the first of what CoreLogic said would be a series of planned product integrations on BeSmartee.

“At CoreLogic, we’re constantly looking for innovative ways to allow both lenders and borrowers to more effectively utilize our solutions,” said Kevin Mullins, Principal, Business Development for CoreLogic.

“We’re excited to add Instant Merge to BeSmartee and to help ensure that lenders can help provide their potential borrowers with a faster origination process, led by a top-notch solution from a leading provider of merged credit reports.”

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

LenderLive Services LLC, headquartered in Denver, has acquired reQuire Holdings LLC, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based group of companies that provide compliance, quality assurance and valuation solutions for the residential and commercial real estate market.

“The acquisition of reQuire strengthens our current franchise and solidifies LenderLive’s position as a leading provider of financial and compliance services,” said John Surface, President and Chief Operating Officer of LenderLive. “The transaction deepens our management team and gives us a broad set of adjacent products that significantly expand our ability to serve our clients.”

“We are very excited to join the LenderLive family,” said Al Will, Chief Executive Officer of reQuire. “This combination significantly enhances our scale and capabilities that will enable us to deliver even greater value to our clients and new opportunities for our employees.”

Evercore acted as

continued from page 37

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If You Teach Them eadership is such an invaluable quality, especially for the branch model that most mortgage companies leverage today, yet many organizations are at a loss for how to either attract leaders to their company or develop them internally. By accepting the notion that even natural-born leaders require shaping and coaching to become effective at leadership, lenders can develop deep internal bench strength in leadership and attract the candidates with the best potential for leadership to their organizations.

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Teaching leaders Even if leadership comes natural to someone’s personality, they must still be taught the lessons of the leaders that have come before them. The key to this approach is to first know what to teach someone who wants to become a leader.

The first lesson for being an

effective leader is having a very clear and precise vision. If you don’t know exactly what it is that you want and who you are, it is next to impossible to get to where you ultimately want to be.

Purpose and direction are the guideposts of good leadership and should influence every decision a leader makes. A great resource for helping leaders determine their vision is The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business by Patrick Lencioni.

In the book, Lencioni proposes there are four questions every leader should be able to answer about their organization: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Why do we exist?

How do we behave?

What do we do?

How will we succeed?

The answers to these questions, Lencioni says, make up a company’s “playbook” and should be used in every decision a leader makes for their

organization, including who to hire (more on that later).

Once a leader has their vision clearly defined, they then must put that vision into practice with those that they are leading. In most mortgage lending organizations, potential leaders are typically pulled from the operational ranks. Think of these folks as Tacticians–highly capable individuals able to execute their specific job function at a high level of efficiency and success. Where most organizations err is in moving these individuals that have demonstrated tremendous potential straight into a leadership role and bypassing a critical next step–management.

Good leaders are good managers, and without good management skills, leaders simply are not as effective as they could be. This is because good managers know how to engage and communicate properly with their teams, which enables them to get buy-in for

their ideas. Without buy-in from others, leaders cannot make their vision a reality. Therefore, to develop leaders, organizations must teach them how to be good managers.

However, it is not enough just to teach them those skills.

Potential leaders must put their mastery of management skills to the test, and one of the best ways to do that is to have them develop others. Good managers and, by extension, good leaders must be capable of helping their teams grow and succeed professionally. Engaging leadership candidates in professional development early on also sets the expectation that leaders must put the needs of their team and employees ahead of themselves, which is a critical lesson for leaders in a servicebased industry like mortgage.

It’s common in service-based industries to put the customer or the source of business first. This is a big misconception. Using a customer-first mentality means

em, They Will Lead

By Michael Cooksey

the decisions that get made are based on what’s best for the customer–that’s to be expected.

However, the sometimesunintended consequence of that type of decision-making is that employees get pulled through the ringer to achieve the desired outcome for the customer.

Service-based industries don’t function without having a person to provide the service to the customer in the first place.

Leaders that can put their team first and make them feel empowered often find that customer service takes care of itself. Employees are, therefore, more motivated and incentivized to provide amazing service and go above-and-beyond to achieve the desired outcome for the customer.

This is the instant when leaders begin to let go of their selfishness and fears of being supplanted or outperformed to truly empower their team. At this point, leaders will truly begin to flourish. That’s not to say that all

leaders should be subservient to their teams all the time; there are going to be times where a leader needs to be decisive in the face of opposition to ensure that the organization is adhering to its playbook as described earlier.

Great leaders care for their people, have a vision and convey that vision to their team to get the best out of them. The experience a great leader creates is hard to describe, but you just feel good when you’re around them. In my opinion, great leaders are driven by a mission that everyone can get behind.

Recruiting leaders As mentioned earlier, an organization’s playbook becomes critical in determining who to hire, and this is especially true when recruiting potential leaders to your organization. Of course, before organizations can recruit

them, they must first be able to find them.

There are two main ways of finding potential leaders—hunting and fishing, and both are important to successful recruiting. Attracting future leaders, or fishing, requires offering something that they want. In many cases, this “something” is knowledge and experience. Money will only bring them so far. There must be something else there to make it worth their while, and that’s usually the ability to grow professionally. This method requires investing in marketing, particularly in publicizing successes, to drive awareness of your organization, and the lead time on this method can be lengthy.

The other option is to hunt, which is also an extremely effective method. Bear in mind that this method is more laborintensive, obligating organization to invest the time to make numerous calls and meet with potential candidates to find the best fits. While the hunting method requires more work and attention than fishing, great leaders should have no problem devoting the needed effort to make this method effective.

A potential challenge with both methods is sorting through the potentially vast pool of candidates to find the one that will be the best fit. Personality and aptitude testing, such as the DiSC? profile, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Wonderlic Personnel Test, are effective means of sorting and assessing candidates to determine who will be successful and in what roles candidates should be placed to be successful. continued on page 51

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n NationalMortgageProfessional.com

The Mortgage Industry Tiptoes into Blockchain Applications

By Phil Hall

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moves into securitization, you will have the ability to peer through and track the performance of each loan. For the first time ever, there will be a purely transparent investment vehicle.”

Nonetheless, blockchain presents several issues that require attention. The aforementioned Moody’s report observed, “One of blockchain’s current limitations is the small number of transactions that can be processed within a period of time based on the restricted size of the blocks and the high costs of using the technology.”

Bert Ely, Principal of Ely & Company, used an opinion column in The Hill to cite the expenses related to electricity, computer chips and other hardware plus the skilled labor needed to run the system, raising the question of whether the costs of blockchain outweighed the benefits.

“A real-world application of distributed ledger technology will occur only if it makes economic sense,” Ely wrote. “An application that minimizes the potential for fraud, is highly accurate and very fast in executing transactions will not be implemented if it is more costly to operate than an alternative, less sophisticated technology.”

And despite the positive buzz on the subject, MBA’s Hill admitted no mortgage lender has committed to incorporating blockchain into its daily business.

“There are some big vendors doing things and looking to do more,” Hill said.

However, Hill added that blockchain’s future in the industry is not a question of if, but when.

“The blockchain group has not had its official kickoff, but we had a call for participation and we have 78 MISMO members as of today,” Hill said.

Phil Hall is Managing Editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at PhilH@MortgageNewsNetwork.com.

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blockchain vendor that organized the still on-going test.

In April, two significant announcements moved blockchain’s viability within the mortgage world to a higher level of priority. First, MISMO announced the creation of a Blockchain Community of Practice that would seek to develop the industry standards related to distributed ledger technology.

“We’ve been talking about blockchain for a year,” said Rick Hill, Vice President of Industry Technology for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). “It is likely the new group will meet at the next MISMO summit from June 4-8 in Denver.”

Also in April, Ranieri Solutions, the financial services technology investment firm founded by securitization expert Lewis S. Ranieri, teamed up with Symbiont, a blockchain and smart contract company, to explore opportunities for using Symbiont’s blockchain platform in mortgage transactions.

“The mortgage market, despite significant efforts, continues to lag behind from a technological standpoint creating inefficiencies that impact mortgage loans throughout their life cycle,” Ranieri said. “By partnering with Symbiont, a proven blockchain pioneer, Ranieri Solutions believes that together we can implement this transformative technology to bring necessary efficiencies, transparency, and security to the mortgage markets.”

Mark Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Symbiont, identified the mortgage industry as an ideal environment for this technology.

“Blockchain tracks every actor who touches the mortgage, from origination to servicing to structuring in pools as securitized products,” Smith said. “When it

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

n early April, Moody’s issued a report determining the potential impact that blockchain technology could have on the mortgage industry. According to Moody’s, this technology had the potential to “streamline key mortgage processes, eliminate redundancies and reduce costs” between 10 and 20 percent, with annual savings estimated between $840 million and $1.7 billion.

Blockchain technology provides real-time peer-to-peer data transfers between networks while recording all transactions through an encrypted electronic ledger. Blockchain is not a new technology—experiments in the concept began in early 1990s, and it wasn’t until the 2009 launch of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency that it was shown to have a practical financial services purpose. Today, several industries have been studying potential applications that could incorporate the blockchain structure into daily business operations, with the housing finance industry only recently making slow steps into the realm.

The first U.S. application that combined blockchain with real estate finance took place earlier this year when Propy Inc., a blockchain start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif., launched a pilot project in collaboration with the City Clerk’s Office of South Burlington, Vt., to utilize blockchain technology to record real estate conveyance documents. History was made on Feb. 20 when the Propy system recorded a property record transfer from an individual to her limited liability company—the fee for the transfer was $10 and the property records were registered through the public Ethereum blockchain.

“It’s a historical moment for the real estate industry in the U.S. and for the blockchain community,” said Propy Founder and Chief Executive Officer Natalia Karayaneva. “It’s the first step.”

While the Propy test was taking place, four major financial services companies—quietly began testing blockchain technology to determine the best way for standardizing the data involved in mortgage securitization. “Structuring securities is complex, involving many different parties, manual processes, duplicated documents and data in different formats,” said David Rutter, Chief Executive Officer of R3, the

heard on the street

continued from page 43

the closing process and accelerate business growth.” l Allegiance Bank Selects Wolters Kluwer’s Compliance Solutions

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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Wolters Kluwer has announced that Allegiance Bank, headquartered in Houston, Texas, has selected the company’s CRA Wiz and Fair Lending Wiz solutions to help the bank manage fair lending compliance across its entire organization. Allegiance Bank operates 16 full-service banking locations and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and has an asset size of $2.86 billion.

Fair Lending Wiz is a complete and automated fair lending management solution that allows Allegiance Bank to identify potential risk—such as underwriting and pricing risks— and promptly take corrective actions where needed. CRA Wiz helps the bank apply a range of fully customizable automation technologies to its CRA reporting process, including guaranteed accurate geocoding, to speed up data preparation for CRA reviews and, ultimately, to ensure banks meet the credit, service and community development needs of the communities they serve.

“As a former Officer of Thrift Supervision (OTS) examiner, I am accustomed to using Wolters Kluwer CRA and Fair Lending Wiz technology in my examinations, and I trust the data these solutions provide,” said Marcus Vasquez, Vice President and Fair Banking Officer at Allegiance Bank. “We are a growing commercial bank, and I want to have the assurance that our data would be comparable, if not exact, as to what regulators are using when conducting our examinations. The peace of mind these solutions provide is invaluable.”

Mortgage Professionals to Watch l United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has announced the addition of Alex Elezaj as its Chief Strategy Officer. Elezaj most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of

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Troy, Michigan-based Class Appraisal.

HomeBridge Financial Services has announced five new additions to its regional leadership team. New Area Managers to join the company include Harry Krause based in Beachwood, Ohio; Stacey Jordan, who will be based in Hanover, Mass.; Tyrone Jefferson in Braintree, Mass.; Peter Luna in Albuquerque; and Hank Zimerman in Woodbridge, N.J. Plaza Home Mortgage has announced that James Pathman and Philip Yee have joined the company as Chief Information Officer and SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, respectively.

Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. (PRMI) has named Ronnie Chinchilla as PRMI Giving Network Manager. The PRMI Giving Network was introduced in September of 2017 by PRMI’s Board of Directors and executive team. The service initiative partners with nonprofit organizations that complement its mission to help transform communities across the globe. PRMI has also announced that Senior Vice President and General Counsel Darryl Lee has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at PRMI. Altisource Portfolio Solutions SA has announced the appointment of Patrick McClain as Senior Vice President, Hubzu Auction Services, reporting to Joseph A. Davila, President, Servicer Solutions. McClain will be responsible for driving the growth of Hubzu’s residential online marketing and auction business.

AmeriFirst Home Mortgage, a division of AmeriFirst Financial Corp., has appointed Ron Bergum as President of its newly formed Southwest Division.

Planet Financial Group has announced that Michael J. Kula has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for coordinating execution of the Planet strategy plans and initiatives across its diverse business

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lines. Planet Home Lending has also announced that Bill Ervin has joined the company as Vice President of Business Development, supporting the company’s retail originations channel.

Freddie Mac has announced that Sam Khater, a prominent housing and economics expert with more than 20 years of experience, is joining the company as Vice President and Chief Economist.

Waterstone Mortgage Corporation has named Nathan Vlazny Vice President–Underwriting at the Pewaukee-based corporate office. Vlazny was previously the Underwriting Manager for the South Atlantic Region of Academy Mortgage.

Matic has named Shahrzad “Shaz” Kojouri as Vice President of Legal and Compliance. A licensed attorney with more than 15 years of experience in corporate compliance, Kojouri will have responsibility over corporate governance, regulatory compliance and vendor management at Matic.

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions has announced the addition of four new Account Executives to help brokers grow their business, including: Alonzo Johnson in Los Angeles; Tom Self in Seattle; Jared Warlick in Fort Myers, Fla.; and Oscar Ungo on the inside sales team.

Caliber Home Loans has appointed Chad Smith, former loanDepot President of Direct Lending, as Executive Vice President, Head of Recapture and Direct to Consumer.

On Q Financial Inc. has named Marcus Davis as Senior Vice President, National Retail Sales Executive.

Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem (NAWRB) has announced the addition of Marcia Davies, Chief Operating Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and Founder of mPower, and Tujuanna B. Williams, Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of Fannie Mae, to its Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council (NDILC).

Ocwen Financial Corporation has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Glen A.

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Messina as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective concurrently with the closing of Ocwen’s previously announced acquisition of PHH Corporation. Messina will also be appointed as a member of Ocwen’s Board at that time.

John Czwartacki has transitioned from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) as its Chief Communications Officer and Spokesperson.

LRES Corporation has announced the promotion of Chief Strategy Officer Mark R. Johnson to the position of company President.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. has appointed Tony Ebers Chief Operating Officer, a new position within Nationstar. Ebers will assume responsibility for servicing, originations and Xome operations.

Home Point Financial Corporation has announced that it has named Brian Brizard as Chief Business Officer (CBO) and Lisa Patterson as Chief Production Officer (CPO). Both will report directly to Willie Newman, Home Point Financial President and CEO. RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation (RPMS) has added five executive-level mortgage servicing professionals to its senior management team: Michael Shidler as Vice President Claims & Loss Management, Frank Ciesielski as Vice President Servicing Transfers, Chalise Freitag as Vice President Corporate Compliance, Roman Vega as Vice President of Marketing, and Ronda Schrader as Vice President Investor Reporting.

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites its readers to submit any information, events, passages, promotions, personal or professional occurrences that seem appropriate and/or other pertinent data to the attention of: Heard on the Street/Mortgage Professionals to Watch column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: Newsroom@MortgageNewsNetwork.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

nmp news flash

continued from page 20

the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and Public Citizen Litigation Group.

Sixty-Two Percent of Homeowners Say They Will Never Move

NMP News Flash column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: Newsroom@MortgageNewsNetwork.com

Builders expressed a lower degree of

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

Retaining leaders Once an organization has identified and trained its leaders, the challenge then becomes keeping them. The absolute best way to retain good leaders is to keep inspiring them and helping them to continually become better. The moment a good leader stops being challenged and developed is when that leader will start looking for a new mentor. Continual growth and professional development is the antidote to dissatisfaction and restlessness.

Once leaders adopt a growth mindset, they are going to constantly crave that in their career. Organizations truly retain people by ensuring they are continually challenged and provided the resources and support to consistently and constantly improve. It’s not money, and it’s not position.

Those elements are important, but money without growth is no

“Leaders are born… but they can also be made.” good. Growth potential, even with low money, can still sustain a good leader.

In addition, keeping consistent with the organization’s values and vision can also go a long way in retaining good leaders. When there is a conflict or a mismatch between a leader’s personality and the overall corporate culture or values, that leader is always going to feel uneasy and will most likely not stick around for the long haul. Therefore, it is crucial for lenders to hire to their values and culture. When someone feels like they belong and can bring value to an organization, their loyalty to that organization will remain high, especially when the other elements outlined above are in place.

Leadership in mortgage is too important to be left to chance or opportunity. Good leaders, even those with innate leadership talent and qualities, must be instructed in the ways of leadership and management to be truly successful and make a positive impact on their organization. Committing to leadership development and training for all potential leadership candidates ensure that lenders are building, attracting and retaining the necessary talent to help steer their growing organizations and fuel additional success.

Michael Cooksey is founder of The Cooksey Team in Dallas, Texas, one of the top performing branches of Mid America Mortgage Inc. Having put his personal philosophy of “earning your first million in production and your second through management,” into practice at The Cooksey Team, Michael used The CORE Training Inc. methodology to coach top producing loan officers, brokers and real estate agents across the country. He can be reached by phone at (972) 767-5701 or e-mail Michael.Cooksey@MidAmericaMortgage.com.

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Builder Confidence Drops for 55+ Housing Market

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information on regulatory changes, legislative updates, human interest stories or any other newsworthy items pertaining to the mortgage industry to the attention of:

For example, in the DiSC? profile, potential leaders will often place high in D (Decisive), and I (Influential), which means they are predisposed at the time of testing to emphasize achieving results and persuading others– both of which are critical skills for good leaders to possess. If a potential candidate places lower in these two categories, that doesn’t necessarily mean they cannot become good leaders, but it does indicate that they will require additional leadership development and training.

To be clear, anyone can learn to do anything, including leadership. The results of these tests and profiles should be used to create an individualized plan for developing leadership, not to exclude a person from ever becoming a leader. In many cases, after receiving training in leadership and management skills, candidates who scored low in D and I the first time around have completely changed their profile results.

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A new data report may cast a darker cloud over the already problematic subject of shrinking housing inventory. According to a study released by Bankrate.com, 79 percent of homeowners have no plans on moving in the next decade while 62 percent of homeowners insist they have no plans to move at all.

Bankrate.com’s study found that 21 percent of homeowners own their primary residence without carrying a mortgage while 32 percent are now paying off a home loan. And while the median reported mortgage rate is 3.95 percent, 29 percent of respondents claimed they didn’t know their mortgage rate or would not identify the rate.

Furthermore, 39 percent of both Gen Xers and Baby Boomers said they have a mortgage on their primary home, while 27 percent of younger Boomers (ages 54-63), 38 percent of older Boomers (ages 64-72) and 51 percent of the Silent Generation (ages 73 and higher) own a home without a mortgage. In contrast, 61 percent of Millennials between 18 and 30 said they do not own their main home, while Millennials (ages 31-37) are equally as likely to own a home than not (43 percent).

“Americans are essentially staying put in their homes for the foreseeable future, either by choice, or by necessity or some combination,” said Bankrate.com Senior Economic Analyst, Mark Hamrick. “Because of this, prospective homebuyers are finding a real lack of quality, affordable inventory, which can lead to bidding wars and risky overspending.”

confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market during the first quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI). The first quarter saw a fivepoint drop to a reading of 66, down from the record peak of 71 set in the previous quarter.

Within the three single-family components that make up the HMI, present sales fell by nine points to 70 while expected sales for the next six months increased by seven points to 80 and traffic of prospective buyers remained unchanged at 51. The 55+ multifamily condo HMI increased 10 points to 64, a new record since the index began 10 years ago. All three components within the multifamily condo HMI broke records: Present sales rose eight points to 67, expected sales for the next six months jumped 10 points to 70 and traffic of prospective buyers soared 15 points to 55.

However, three of the four components of the 55+ multifamily rental market went down from the previous quarter: Present production declined three points to 59, expected future production fell four points to 57 and present demand for existing units decreased three points to 68. The one component that showed upward movement was future expected demand, and that was only up one point to 68.

“The decline in the 55+ singlefamily HMI is consistent with slight softening of other measures of single-family construction seen recently, likely due to winter weather effects, which may be affecting housing activity in some areas of the country,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “However, market conditions overall remain favorable, and we expect gradual continued growth in the 55+ housing sector.”

if you teach them ...

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Rules of Engagement: Making the Most of Your Social Media Presence

By Deborah Speed & Connor Snyder

Social media doesn’t work! It’s only for young people! There’s no return on my investment! hese are a few common responses mortgage professionals may express when faced with the seemingly daunting task of investing valuable time in building their professional social media identities. Whether it’s a misunderstanding of the platform or an unsuccessful foray into the world of paid digital campaigns, effective social media use can seem elusive to even the most seasoned loan originator. These skewed perceptions, paired with the burden of remaining compliant in an ever-evolving landscape of regulatory reform, may derail the desire to even begin down the path of social media marketing.

Although it may seem preferable to remain within the comfortable box of long-standing mortgage marketing techniques, it’s important to note that social media isn’t going away. In fact, it’s only becoming more popular. According to the 2018 Global Digital Report from Hootsuite, a social media management platform, and We Are Social, a marketing agency, the average American adult spends 121 minutes on social media every day, or 8.4 percent of their lives. Ignoring that level of influence on, and access to, potential borrowers is a risk that successful mortgage originators cannot afford to take.

When building a social media presence for business purposes, it’s also critical to remember that it isn’t as simple as posting a clever meme to a personal profile. Cultivating an engaging, wellbalanced and compliant, professional digital identity may help establish a unique brand that stands out among competitors, and propels business forward through the powerful tool of social networking.

The following are several tips on building effective social media strategies, creating and utilizing engaging content, and remaining compliant amid legislative attention surrounding social media.

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Business pages vs. personal profiles Once the decision is made to take advantage of social media marketing by creating a professional profile, the next step is to set up an effective business page. Because all online activity relating to professional dealings is considered advertising by mortgage finance regulators, keeping business and personal accounts separate is essential.

This distinction between accounts varies across platforms. For example, a professional account can be created using Facebook’s Business Pages or by opening a separate business account on Twitter. Either way, keeping clear boundaries between professional and personal digital identities will be advantageous in the end.

In addition to the compliance benefits, using a business page or profile on platforms such as Facebook or Instagram can also provide access to a variety of tools, such as data analytics, post boosting, paid advertising and limitless connection caps. Although the use of a personal profile may seem like a simpler and more enticing option, investing the time to build a public business page will pay off in the long run.

Social networks are for networking Once a social media presence has been created, the next piece of the puzzle is connecting with others. So, how does that happen?

Social media often goes by another name–social networking. As such, online interactions should be treated the same as face-to-face exchanges where a two-way dialogue is the norm. Inviting people to like a Facebook page is similar to handing someone a business card–the expected response would be to ask for a card in return, or in the case of social media, to inquire about their professional page. continued on page 54

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Once connected, successful social networkers engage with people by meeting them where they are. They write posts and share content with the goal of creating meaningful interactions. Involved social media users like, share and comment on the feeds of those whom they follow. Talking with followers instead of talking to them helps establish trust, engenders good will and deepens connections with clients, leads and professional contacts.

Awareness of online relationships with other mortgage industry professionals is crucial to ensure interactions remain inline with regulatory standards.

Exchanging likes for likes or shares for shares could be a violation of industry regulation.

Additionally, extreme caution should be taken when posting client images or information.

Consent is key. If doubts arise regarding social media engagement or content, consult a compliance professional in order to protect against regulatory action.

Clearly define your goals A business page is developed and connections are beginning to generate, so what happens next? When developing a social media strategy, it is important to begin with a clear objective.

Not everyone does business the same way; similarly not everyone should use social media the same way. Is the primary goal to nurture leads?

Gather reviews? Remarket to past customers? Network with professional contacts?

Each of these goals requires using different social media tools, which means dedicating time and resources to implement that strategy. Using a one-size-fits-all approach without a clear understanding of the primary objective will result in the conclusion that social media does not work.

Social media can’t work if there’s no clear definition of what working looks like.

This is why consulting a professional can truly pay off.

Taking the time to flesh out strategy with someone who

understands the quickly evolving world of digital media can help lay the foundation for a solid and successful social future. Once a goal is in place, the content and budget will follow.

Understanding the attention economy Creating content that is engaging, informational, unique and compliant is one of the most difficult challenges in digital marketing. Keep in mind that social media operates on the attention economy, which is key when beginning the creative process. How do businesses get social media users to “Stop the scroll?”

First and foremost, ask, “What value is this post adding to my followers?” If Loan Originators constantly push loan products without taking time to build trust with their audience, the content will likely be stale fail to engage people, and ultimately never even show up in users’ feeds.

Companies like Facebook know that people are more likely to stay in their apps if they see content that is relevant to them.

This is why algorithms are used to predict the type of content users want to see based on how they interact on the platform.

The more engaging the content is, the more likely Facebook will be to show it in its users’ feeds.

If winning the attention economy is the goal, then the content being produced needs to be worth the attention being paid.

Get users’ attention, not regulators’ Getting attention may sound easy, but when faced with a host of industry regulations, getting “Likes” and “Clicks” requires some creative thinking.

One way to increase engagement is by making it personal. When a business stops being a business and connects on a personal level it begins to establish rapport with followers. Sharing motivational quotes and pick-me-up content can feel natural and personal.

Another way to build trust is by sharing reputable third-party content. Sharing news or data

from renowned publications can help inform followers about industry happenings and provide education in financial matters.

Adding personal insights into this type of information can also establish a level of expertise within the field.

Finally, posting in a variety of formats can also increase engagement and avoid the feeling of repetitive messaging.

Images and videos can grab more attention than plain text, so focusing on developing assets with visually appealing graphics or interesting video content will be worth the investment.

Organic vs. paid reach Once goals have been identified, strategy set and content created, then it is time to determine the best method of delivery. The two common vehicles for pushing content out to users are known as organic reach and paid reach.

When a follower views posted content that is referred to as organic (unpaid) reach. For a long time, businesses on social media enjoyed the same amount of reach as individual profiles.

However, as social networks have grown, algorithms are always changing and more businesses vie for user attention, getting content in followers’ feeds has become increasingly difficult.

This is why paid reach is a must. Paid reach allows users to prioritize their content in others’ feeds. Additionally, paid social media targeting allows a user to achieve higher priority in their followers’ feeds, but also in the feeds of non-followers who fall in

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the range of targeted demographics. Paid reach can be used to help accelerate growth, reach new audiences, or create full-blown social media campaigns.

Regardless of whether a post is organic or paid, both are considered advertising by regulators, and should always include the proper disclosures and information that any other form of advertising would require.

Social media is here to stay To reiterate: Social media isn’t going anywhere. As more Millennials become the primary source of business for lenders, Loan Officers will find an increasing need to have an active presence on social media. Those who take the time to develop a clear strategy and invest effort in growing their online following while it is still early could find themselves with a competitive advantage in the years to come.

Information contained in this article does not constitute legal, financial or other professional advice or services and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice. The purpose of the article is to provide the opinions of Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC and general guidance on certain matters related to mortgages.

The reader accepts full responsibility for the use of the information contained herein.

Castle & Cooke Mortgage is an Equal Housing Lender.

Deborah Speed is the Marketing Communications and Public Relations Manager for Castle & Cooke Mortgage.

She is primarily responsible for brand management, media engagement, community involvement and internal communications. Connor Snyder works as Social Media Strategist for Castle & Cooke Mortgage. He oversees the corporate social media strategy and consults individual Loan Officers on how to improve their social media presence.

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The Self-Promoter: Marketing Strategies to Help You Stand Out in a Crowded Market

By Casey Cunningham

ith today’s focus on new and emerging technology, it can be easy for Loan Officers to rely on electronic, automated solutions to gain new business instead of putting forth their full efforts to reach potential customers and referral sources.

While keeping up with technological advances is vital to staying relevant in our industry, the timeless fundamental practices of a natural self-promoter are irreplaceable. Incredible selfpromoters are those who effectively and consistently stand out from the competition and make known their clear and unique value proposition.

They are actively seeking the attention of their leads and refuse to be ignored until they have it.

However, they do not simply make a lot of noise. They know how to make the right kind of noise. Great self-promoters strategically plan how to market themselves to each audience they need to reach.

Specifically, they follow these three steps:

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1. Position themselves correctly in front of their Key Targets; 2. Create a memorable style; and 3. Consistently reach out to leads using multiple touches.

Positioning The databases of most Loan Officers are made up of many different types of leads. A onesize-fits-all approach to marketing is not going to help them stand out as someone who can bring specific value to each client. For example, a Loan Officer might send out a weekly newsletter that frequently covers FHA lending.

While this information is great for referral sources who work with first-time homebuyers, it has no relevance to a Realtor who does only high-end

“Incredible self-promoters are those who effectively and consistently stand out from the competition and make known their clear and unique value proposition. They are actively seeking the attention of their leads and refuse to be ignored until they have it.”

business. This Loan Officer has just become white noise.

Messaging should bring value to the intended audience. Once mortgage professionals know who their Key Targets are, they need to develop communication that speaks directly to the needs of the people they want to reach. This way, they are positioning themselves as a true business partner.

There is an often overlooked group of people Loan Officers should work to position themselves in front of: Friends and family. An LO should ask themselves: “When the people I know think about mortgages, do they automatically think of me?” If the answer is no, an originator needs to work on making their name synonymous with the word “mortgage.”

Here’s an example of two

people who accomplished this goal. I know of two Loan Officers who decided they were going to wear their name tags everywhere they went—the grocery store, restaurants, even their family reunions. These name tags had their company and job title on them, letting everyone who saw them on a regular basis know exactly who these men were and what they did for a living. If anyone were to talk to any of their friends or family members about needing a mortgage, these two Loan Officers were sure to get a recommendation. Simple and easy practices like this can have an incredible impact on creating recognition for a Loan Officer in their community.

Style When positioning themselves in

front of potential clients, mortgage professionals need to consider what their unique style is that will make them stand out from the competition. One of the primary ways to get the attention of a referral source is through personalized marketing. This will require more than just knowing what kind of business they do. It does not normally involve using generic, branded trinkets. Effective personalized marketing is, as the name suggests, personalized specifically to the referral source. The goal is to form a personal connection that will leave a lasting impression.

In a recent episode of Inside the Mortgage Mind—a podcast from XINNIX, the Mortgage Academy—Loan Officer Kristi Hardy talks about how she used a personal fact she knew about one referral source to win her business.

“I met a Realtor who was really into shoes, so I did a shoe campaign,” said Hardy. “I sent pictures of shoes mysteriously to her mailbox.

After two or three weeks, I sent my business card with a note that said, ‘Mama needs a new pair of shoes. Come see me for your next loan.’ Ever since then, that Realtor has been completely dedicated to me and refers business to me all the time.”

The other vital way for Loan Officers to differentiate themselves from the competition is through their unique value proposition. Once the Loan Officer has established a personal connection, their next step is to let the customer specifically know how they will help their business. Every Originator in the country will say, “I have great rates, the best service, and the most knowledge.”

These are broad statements that are easily ignored. Great self-promoters tell their leads exactly what kind of value they bring. They have an answer to

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the age-old question, “What’s in it for me?” They essentially make a service agreement with the customer, ensuring them, “When you do business with me, I’m going to answer the phone every time it rings or call you back within 30 minutes,” or “I will get someone to the closing table on time every time.” By making specific promises, and then building a reputation for following up on those promises, LOs bring value and build loyalty with referrals.

reaching out to potential clients, you are bound to build strong relationships with the people who can bring you the

most business. Technology is a great assistant, but it will never replace the power of a natural self-promoter.

Casey Cunningham is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of XINNIX. Based in Alpharetta, Ga., XINNIX provides nationally-recognized leadership development and mortgage sales training programs that enhance productivity, manager effectiveness and overall company profitability. She may be reached by e-mail at Casey@XINNIX.com or visit XINNIX.com.

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Repetition First, they’ve positioned themselves in front of the right people. Then, they made themselves stand out with personalized marketing and a unique value proposition. All the pieces are now in place for this loan officer, but there’s one more strategy that is nearly always the determining factor in landing someone’s business—the practice of repetition. A common rule in marketing is that someone must see an ad seven times before they remember it. The same general principle applies to referral sources. No matter how engaging a communication or creative their personalized marketing is, loan officers are not going to get their leads’ attention after one touch.

Additionally, the way mortgage professionals reach out must be varied. We have all been on the receiving end of a marketing e-mail campaign that we found far more annoying than engaging.

Instead, by combining relevant communication, personalized marketing, phone calls, and other touches, Loan Officers stand a far higher chance of making an impact on a potential referral partner.

Persistence is key as well.

Some referral partners might call back in a few days, but most will take weeks, months, or even years to build a business partnership. While many will give up, the Loan Officer who most consistently reaches out will be the one to eventually get their attention.

As you are looking at how you can take your production to the next level, you might hear about software and online platforms that are meant to

streamline your processes and lead you to higher profitability.

Many of these are highly effective and, if used correctly, can play a major role in increasing your business.

However, none of them will make a difference unless you are putting in the effort to follow the steps outlined here.

By positioning yourself in front of the right audience, creating a unique style and value proposition, and consistently

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Why a Negative Review Can Be a Marketing Opportunity

By Andrea Obston

n today’s online world, a bad customer experience can reverberate around the world on the Web in mere minutes. Whether it’s a bad review on Yelp or a nasty post on Facebook, it can and will impact your business.

Online reviews are read and trusted by millions. They have the power to affect business development and customer retention. According to online social media consultant, ThriveHive:

and, will in fact, be likely to become brand advocates if you do: A 20 percent increase in advocacy from those using social media, and a 16 percent increase in advocacy from those using review sites

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l Ninety percent of consumers read online reviews. l Eighty-eight percent of consumers trust online reviews when considering a business. l Seventy-two percent of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more. l Eighty-six percent of consumers will decide against buying from a business if they read negative reviews online. l A one-star increase on Yelp leads to a five to nine percent increase in business revenue, and one negative review can cost a business 30 customers. Note that a Yelp Page will sometimes rank higher than a company’s actual site on a search engine results page.

I recently read Jay Baer’s book Hug Your Haters and it changed the way I look at the marketing opportunities opened up by negative reviews. That’s right I said “opportunities” and “negative reviews” in the same sentence.

Complainers: Who are they and what do they want?

Complainers (or “Haters” as Baer calls them) fall into two categories. Each kind of complainer has their own characteristics and what they expect from the offending business.

Off-stage complainers usually log their concerns

“Customer service is a spectator sport.”

privately, in a one-to-one format like a phone call or an e-mail.

These complainers share these characteristics: l Slightly older than “on-stage haters” l Less mobile than “on-stage haters” l Less social media savvy l Less likely to complain l Less strident and dramatic than those who complain publicly l Make up the majority of complainers (62 percent of those who complain overall) l Want and expect an answer: 91 percent of those who complain by phone expect a reply, while 89 percent of those who complain by email expect a reply l If you answer them, you can expect them to become brand advocates for your company l If you don’t answer their complaints, expect a decline in their willingness to advocate for your brand and

that they may turn to social media and review sites to air their issues.

On-stage complainers almost always complain first in a public way, using social media, review sites, discussion boards or forums. These complainers share these characteristics: l Slightly younger than the “off-stage haters” l More mobile l More tech and social media savvy l More likely to complain frequently l More strident and dramatic in their complaints to gain attention in the cluttered social media environment l Less like to expect an answer as compared to “offstage haters:” 42 percent of those using social media expect a reply, while 53 percent of those using review sites expect a reply l They are pleasantly surprised if you answer them

Why it’s important to answer every complaint publicly “Customer service has become a spectator sport.”

That quote, from Hug Your Haters, should be the guiding concept in responding to all reviews. Why? Because consumers take your responses (or lack of them) as an indication of how you deliver customer service.

Responding publicly takes a complaint and uses it as a vehicle to demonstrate your responsiveness and concern for the customer. It’s the outward sign of the way you approach customer service.

Answering complaints increases customer advocacy.

Customers who get their issues solved tend to become customer advocates. In Baer’s book, he cites these chilling statistics: l Responding to a complaint anywhere on social media generates a 20 percent advocacy lift on average. l Not responding to a complaint on social media decreases customer advocacy by 43 percent. l For Yelp customers (the goto place unhappy customers), responding to a negative review increases customer advocacy by 16 percent. l For Yelp customers not responding to a negative review results in a 37 percent drop in customer advocacy.

Most importantly, one the biggest pluses for couriers that participate in review sites isn’t just increasing advocacy among the original complainers, but

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demonstrating to onlookers that your business cares.

The bottom line is this: l Responding to on-stage haters will surprise and delight them. l Responding publicly magnifies your response to all on social media. l Responding publicly demonstrates your dedication to customer service to all who are active on social media.

only go back and forth with them twice. No more. If they continue to come back at you, take the conversation offline with a post such as, “Clearly, this is an issue that concerns you. Let’s see what we can work out together. Please email me with your contact information. My e-mail is: AObston@AOMC.com.” Most will go away and those that come back will be seen by your social media followers for

what they are. l Ask for an update: If you’ve responded to the customer’s review and solved the problem, it’s perfectly appropriate to ask them for an updated review (do not ask that they take down the review specifically). Sometimes, customers will decide to do this on their own. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with asking them to update their review as long as it

doesn’t look like that’s the only reason you’re helping them.

Taking it offline Almost all social media channels offer the ability to send private messages. You would use these offline channels to either gain more information about the order the customer is concerned about or continued on page 60

Rules of engagement on social media Your responses to negative social media comments showcase your company’s positive attitude towards the customer. They demonstrate your concern for their issues.

But how do you do that? Rule number one is to make sure your response sounds like it’s written by a human, someone who has compassion for the customer and a determination to make things right. No one feels any better when they hear: “We’re sorry your expectations were not met.”

Who talks like that?

Here are some of “rules of the road” for responding to negative reviews:

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l Stay positive l Offer a solution l Take the conversation offline to share accountspecific information l Communicate with the customer as you would a real person. Do not use “corporate-ese.”

Demonstrate empathy and an eagerness to solve their problem human-to-human.

Talk like a person, not a corporation. Consider the difference between “Your problem is very important to us” and “Wow, that’s terrible. That’s not how we do business. What can we do?” l Reply only twice: There is a group of complainers who enjoy the spotlight. These folks (sometimes called “trolls”) only want on-stage attention. They want to get you to say something offkilter and they have no real interest in getting their issues resolved. To avoid getting into a public “war” with this group of people,

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why a negative review can be a marketing opportunity

to invite a private conversation to defuse a complainer who tempts you to violate the â&#x20AC;&#x153;twice-onlyâ&#x20AC;? rule.

Monitoring reviews The sheer volume of reviews and review sites is overwhelming. To help you deal with the clutter and to respond in a timely manner, we recommend using an online dashboard. These Reputation Management services allow you to: l Spot reviews involving your company from review sites l Spot company mentions on the Web l Spot company mentions on search engines and social media l Respond to reviews and keep track of the conversation l See all these on one dashboard

l Receive immediate alerts when you company is mentioned

online reviews and brandbuilding and management (i.e. cultivating positive reviews).

There are a number of providers for these services.

Business News Dailyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top choice for a reputation management service is WebiMax. In Hug Your Haters, Baer singles out Yext and ReviewTrackers.

These services can help you monitor reviews, respond to them and some even help you reach out to cultivate positive reviews.

They can be good ways to protect your image, but make sure you know what each can and cannot do. Also, look into the methods they use to make sure they are trustworthy and effective. Evaluate their packages to make sure you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t paying for more than what you want.

Decide whether you want some (or all) of these services: Managing existing negative comments or reviews, managing

Promoting positive reviews Now, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk about those positive reviews. The best antidote to negative reviews is to cultivate positive reviews. How many successful closings do you do every day? A lot, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll bet. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also bet people do not run to their screens to tell the world how great it was to get their mortgages approved. How about asking them to do just that?

Heck, my dentist and my car repair shop do that. Why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you?

Consider these facts: Only 70 percent of consumers have been asked by a business to leave a review; and if asked, approximately 71 percent of consumers will leave a review for a business.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just plain good business to ask your happy customers to post a positive review. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a great way to attract the attention of shippers. Just make sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not too aggressive in the way you ask for these reviews.

For starters, let customers know you participate in review sites and that that you care about what they say, and in fact, value it.

When asking for a review, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you need to keep in mind:

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Contact us to learn l more about Carrington and make the move to expand d yourr business b and d careerr..

l Ask at the peak of your customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happiness with your service (i.e. right after the delivery) l Use casual language

l Make it clear you are interested in feedback, not just a rating l Approach the customer in a way that asks for a favor l Let your customer know how long doing the review will take l Tell your customer how much their writing a review means to you l Tell them that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking forward to reading their review l Express your gratitude for both their business and the time it takes to give the feedback l Avoid offering incentives for leaving online reviews (both Yelp and Google have taken aggressive stances against such practices) Conclusion Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a challenge to build positive online review presence, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equally daunting to face the inevitable negative online reviews that all couriers unfortunately experience.

Remember the Jay Baer mantra: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Customer service is a spectator sport.â&#x20AC;? I really believe that customer service is the best way to get your business to stand out from your competitors.

By rethinking your approach to negative online reviews, I firmly believe you will showcase your business as responsive to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;hatersâ&#x20AC;? and caring to the spectators observing the interaction. Think of your response as an indicator of just how seriously you take customer service. And who wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to do business that sends that message?

John Cervantes RECRUITER John.Cervantes@CarringtonMH.com

949-517-7127 Carlos Fernandez RECRUITER Carlos.Fernandez@CarringtonMH.com

949-517-7204

Marketing support and lead generation Licensingg & compliance support Agent co-marketing programs V O T E D T O P 5 0 B E S T P L AC E S T O W O R K

|

W E â&#x20AC;&#x2122; R E T H E # 6 FH A L E N D E R I N T H E N A AT T ION

Š Copy pyright 2007-2018 Carrington Mortg tgage Services, LLC C headquartered at 1600 South Douglass Road, d, Suites 110 & 200A 0A , Anaheim, CA C A 92806. 888-267-0584. NMLS ID #2600. Nationwide Mortg t gage Licensing Sy System (N (NMLS) S) Consumer Access website: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org rg. Alll rig ights ts reserved.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Andrea Obston is President of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications, a reputation and crisis management firm. For the past 35 years, the company has built, enhanced and defended reputations for mid- to largesized organizations. For more information, visit AOMC.com.

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How to Get Quality Mortgage Borrowers Calling You From Facebook Advertising

By Chris Johnstone

successful marketing campaign on social media can totally transform the profitability of a mortgage business.

It gives you the ability to create quality clients on demand and scale to even the most aggressive growth targets.

There is a small sliver of our industry that has figured out how to successfully run lead generation campaigns that churn out a consistent healthy profit month after month.

However, that is the exception.

The majority of our industry continues to struggle to adapt to the social age of advertising. We are constantly getting requests for help from frustrated professionals who have boosted

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a post and received nothing but a bill in return.

Then, the total opposite … a company is able to navigate their way through the constant changes and finally figures out how to create a stream of new leads, but come to the conclusion that leads from Facebook take too much time to follow up on so they stop a campaign that has incredible potential.

We created this article to help put you on the path to success and give you the framework that you need to create a profit generating advertising campaign using Facebook Ads. By the end, you are going see how our clients have quality borrowers calling them on auto pilot from Facebook ads.

Here is the basic truth … most mortgage professionals trying to run their own ad campaigns are set up for failure before they run their first ad. Why? There is no clear outline of what the goal is!

How do you know when your campaign is successful if you aren’t setting a goal and measuring your results?

If you’re going to succeed in today’s difficult landscape, you need a plan for your entire lead generation pipeline with specific goals at each stage in the lead conversion process.

Planning for success Budget and ROI planning comes first. Before you start building your campaigns, you have to lay out your goals and what you need as an ROI to consider your Facebook advertising a success.

Tracking these numbers helps you focus on the things that are important and accurately determine the true results of your effort and investment at the end of the month. It keeps you motivated through the process and stops you from getting overwhelmed and pausing campaigns that are successful.

Here are the five goals you must lay out before you start your campaign.

1. Total ROI goal.

2. How many leads turn into phone calls?

3. How many phone calls turn into applications?

4. How many of your applications turn into deals?

5. What is your total cost per lead?

Here’s an example of how your numbers should break down, and remember, every businesses’ numbers will be different based on the Total ROI percentage that you expect from your advertising dollars.

1. Total ROI goal (200 percent): For every $1 spent on ads, we return $2 in gross revenue 2. Leads to calls (40 percent) 3. Calls to applications (20 percent)

4. Applications to fundings (50 percent) Now that we have these numbers, we can figure out how much you can spend per lead. We use the baseline of 100 leads per month to figure out your numbers.

1. Total ROI goal (200 percent) 2. One hundred leads turns into 40 calls (40 percent) 3. Forty calls turns into eight applications (20 percent) 4. Eight applications turn into four deals (50 percent) Now, we can figure out our maximum cost per lead based on our 100 leads. For example, if you average $2,500 per deal, the numbers look like this: l Four deals at $2,500 generates $10,000 in revenue from every 100 leads.

Because we set a goal of 200 percent ROI, we know that we can spend $5,000 to return that $10,000, and $5,000 divided by 100 leads gives us a maximum allowable cost per lead of $50.

Goodbye overwhelm.

Once you have these metrics laid out in your business your success comes down to tracking these five basic metrics and making sure you are hitting your targets. If there is a specific part of your lead conversion process that is broken, it is easy to identify and fix.

So, now that you know your goals for your marketing system, let’s build your system!

Your marketing campaigns There are three different Facebook Ad campaigns that we see working very well right now.

1. Generating real estate leads for your referral partners: We are seeing success right now by offering free listing updates, area specific valuation reports or creating weekly open house notifications. You generate the leads with your referral partners.

You manage the follow up with the leads using the automated lead nurture sequence that we talk about later in this article and then send the leads back

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to your real estate partners once you have pre-qualified them and made sure they are a good fit. This campaign generates deals from your real estate partners existing clients as well as the new deals that are coming direct from your marketing system.

2. Direct mortgage leads: There are two campaigns seeing excellent response. The first is a mortgage shopping tool kit where you bundle all of the financial tools that your client needs into a free report. The second is an immediate rate quote and financial analysis via Facebook Messenger. You generate the leads directly into your mortgage business.

You automate the SMS, voicemail and e-mail follow up with the leads using the same system that you use for the real estate leads. The automated follow up gets roughly 40 percent of the leads to call back into the business without you having to do any cold calling or manual follow up.

3. Referrals from past clients: This campaign is one of my favorites. You use the Facebook Ads Manager to create a custom audience from your past customer database. You then run ads that just show up to your past customers and warm network.

The ads are very brandfocused and showcase success stories, testimonials and fun, friendly reminders that your business runs on referrals. This campaign generates an incredible amount of mindshare with your past clients while they feel like your marketing is “everywhere!” As a result, you get all of their referrals and they become active promoters of your mortgage business.

Your automated follow up system The final key to your success is taking yourself out of the equation when it comes down to converting your leads into follow up.

Let’s face it, we’re all

incredible at follow up in the first 30 days when a campaign is exciting, but when you scale to 200, 300 leads and beyond per month the phone follow up falls off and that means you start leaving money on the table.

There are many CRMs out there that can take care of automating the follow up process. We have an incredible system that we customize for our clients. Here is how the first seven days should look … l Day 1: Ringless voicemail within five minutes of the lead opting in. Five minutes after, send a follow up SMS that references the voicemail. One hour after, send a follow up email. l Day 2: Voicemail, SMS and email with additional value and intrigue to generate the call back.

l Day mail l Day l Day

3: Voicemail, SMS and ebuilt around social proof.

5: E-mail.

7: E-mail.

After this initial conversion process, the lead is guided through the rest of the first 60 days and then dropped into a long term nurture program to convert them over time.

Tying it all together Once your campaigns are up and running, your main responsibility should be to field the calls, manage your referral relationships and tracking the metrics of your system.

Hope you enjoyed the article!

For a free online workshop where I can walk you through each step in building out the campaigns I mentioned above, visit ConnectionIncorporated.com/FB Results.

Chris Johnstone is Chief Executive Officer of Connection Inc. Their team of Google and Facebook experts help mortgage professionals automate their online marketing and achieve excellent ROI from their investment in advertising. Chris may be reached by e-mail at Chris@ConnectionIncorporated.com.

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With over 30 years of professional experience each, our Account Executives know the local markets and pride themselves on friendly, responsive service. Plus, our team has

Bijan Farassat (917) 731-4870 bfarassat@ridgewoodbank.com NMLS ID#646654

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*On primary residences and second homes (LTVs apply).

Terms and conditions subject to change without notice. Loans subject to credit approval.

Lisa Constant (516) 640-8375 lconstant@ridgewoodbank.com NMLS ID#646655

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an in-depth understanding of home loan options, including low down payment options through our Affordable Mortgage Program, and specialty loans like Jumbos, loans to

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Turning Your Clients into Homeowners.

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Baby Boomer vs. Millennial: A Tale of Two Generations of Mortgage Marketing

By Betsy Boggia & Marina Kowaleski

he mortgage industry is a relationshipbuilding business and today’s Loan Officers are fortunate to have numerous tools to stay connected with their borrowers, before, during and after the purchase.

Opportunities exist to make yourself a valuable resource to countless people on a daily basis, regardless of their communication preferences and capabilities. However, with all of the digital marketing tools available, it’s important not to overlook the basics. Rather, Loan Officers should consider how they can incorporate their traditional marketing strategies with modern technology and

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especially if they reflect a past company, and most importantly, ensure that your pages meet your company’s compliance guidelines.

While having an online presence is essential for mortgage professionals in 2018, it is only half the battle.

Only those actively Posting, Commenting, Liking and Sharing on social media will stand out from the competition.

Social media engagement is key in order to build authentic relationships with your clients.

Many see social media as a chore, but really it is simply another way to communicate with potential clients and create value in people’s lives.

This can be as basic as sharing information about the most common questions asked when buying a home through blogs, articles, photos, videos and infographics.

If you’re still new to social media, start slow and be consistent. Choose one platform you’re comfortable with and excel at it. Then, once you feel you have mastered it, take on another platform. Stay focused on how to use social networks as a way to build relationships, and seek out any opportunity to create new ones.

There are several unique ways you can do this:

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social media to reach their clients across all mediums. With more competition in the industry than ever, the real question to ask is not if, but how?

Most clients (especially Millennials) will start their home search by looking you up on Google, LinkedIn and Facebook before ever getting in contact with you. Unfortunately, if they cannot find you or do not like what they see, they will move right on to their next person. If potential clients cannot find you online, you’re invisible.

So, be sure to Google yourself! Ensure that all of your online contact information is up to date and that potential clients can easily find you and learn who you are. Be sure to revise or remove older pages,

Friend and follow your clients on social media Friending your clients on social media is a great way to establish a connection with your borrowers and cultivate potential referrals. Feeling a little uneasy about it? Be upfront that you’d like to add them, and explain its okay if they’re not comfortable connecting with you. Let them know the type of content you share and how frequently you post. You want to be transparent with your clients, just as you want them to be transparent with you. Regularly posting informational and more personal content will help you develop a genuine rapport with

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both your clients and a larger digital audience.

Utilize Facebook Groups With Facebook’s newest algorithm update, it is becoming more difficult for businesses to generate organic reach online. However, Facebook groups are a great way to stay top of mind with your network. Whether you’re joining local groups in your community or creating your own, groups make people feel like they belong to something special. Many people use groups to ask for local recommendations and reviews.

Position yourself as a resource in these situations when mortgage questions are asked– people will consider your advice and remember you when they’re ready to buy.

Garner online reviews Consumers consider online reviews now more than ever when purchasing a new product or hiring a professional. In fact, 88 percent of consumers consider online reviews to be just as trustworthy as personal recommendations—and yes, even the bad reviews will help you too! Surprisingly, some negative reviews have been proven to further highlight your positive reviews, making them seem more genuine. So don’t shy away from using social media because you’re afraid of what some people might say— it will help you in the long run.

Choose one platform and be sure to ask every client to leave you an online review there. If they don’t respond, don’t hesitate to follow up three or four times—remember, they are probably in the midst of moving. Just ensure that you are doing so compliantly.

Know the power of video Seventy-nine percent of consumers would rather watch a video than read an article when learning something new.

Video has taken the Internet by

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storm over the last few years, and is predicted to account for 80 percent of all online traffic by 2019. Countless studies show the staggering ROI on incorporating video into your marketing strategy, so what are you waiting for? Some ideas include: l Short tips/how-to videos are a great way to keep your network informed on the latest trends in the mortgage industry. l Go live at an open house you are attending (don’t forget to tag your Realtor). l Introduce yourself and remind your social network that you’re always there to help them through the homebuying process.

use it to your advantage. While your mortgage expertise creates value for potential clients, being authentic and available across all forms of communication are key driving factors to building trustworthy, lifelong relationships with your clients that will help you continue to build and grow your business.

Betsy Boggia is the New England Regional Marketing Director at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation where she leverages various marketing channels to build brands and deepen relationships. Marina Kowaleski is the Digital Marketing Specialist for Fairway Independent Mortgage’s New England Region. With a background in social media marketing, Marina specializes in educating mortgage professionals on how to use various social media and digital marketing tools to build their businesses.

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Don’t underestimate e-mail E-mail may seem outdated, and its demise has been predicted for years, but 91 percent of U.S. customers still use e-mail daily. In fact, it’s the first thing most people check at the beginning of each day. It is seen by many (including Millennials) as a more formal medium perfect for communicating important news, offers and updates about your business. Social media platforms are just that— social—and most prefer to use them to get entertainment information and stay connected to their network. By leveraging your database to share helpful content across multiple mediums including social

Pick up the phone Making routine calls to your database will never fail, and it is a good idea to get in the habit of doing this annually.

Time-blocking strategies are a great way to commit to this, especially if you start during the first three months of the New Year when the market it is slower.

Chances are you will get a voicemail, and in fact, you can invest in tools that will divert your call directly to voicemail so that you can move through your list quickly. While you have countless communication tools available, a phone call is far more personal, especially if you can identify a reason specific to each contact, i.e. time to review your mortgage, update your contact info, or offer congratulations on a birthday or mortgage anniversary. It does not take much to leave a good impression and reinforce the connection.

While phone and e-mail are more traditional marketing tools, they should dovetail with your digital marketing strategy.

Your e-mail should include links to all of your social platforms and Web site. Your voicemails should prompt people to find you on social media. Some of the content you generate for e-mails can be

tailored and shared across a blog, Web site or social media.

Cross-promotion is a great way to reinforce your presence to influence your network every chance you get.

As a mortgage professional, your job is to ease clients through what can be a highly stressful yet exciting time in their life. Keep this in mind and

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With the latest craze of live video, social media stories and video integrated CRM tools, there are countless ways to incorporate video into your marketing plan. Get creative!

All of the above are sure to help with your digital strategy, however, direct contact with your database via regular emails and phone calls should still be a part of your overall marketing plan. Be careful about abandoning the tried and true for new and exciting tools, rather, view social platforms as a way of expanding your reach and enhancing your opportunities, not as a replacement. Specifically, your database is a gold mine of business and can be easily marketed to via emails and phone calls.

media, you can position yourself as a thought leader in your industry, and generate transparency and personal connections through your online presence.

Be sure to schedule a weekly e-mail to your database.

Depending on how sophisticated your CRM tool is, you can schedule your e-mails at optimal times for visibility, and segment your list so content is tailored to specific groups. For example, older homeowners who may be interested in downsizing or reverse mortgages, or condo owners who may be ready for a larger single family home.

Remember, these are people who know you or have done business with you in the past, and are therefore nine times more likely to work with you opposed to a brand new client.

Warm leads like these are far easier to convert and more cost effective to market to.

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Five Mortgage Marketing Tips to Help Loan Officers Win

By Raymond Bartreau

et’s face it, rate changes are the new norm and now, the mortgage industry must evolve. As the head of a mortgage marketing firm, I’m in the trenches with Loan Officers. So many LO’s are transitioning over to the purchase market as consumer interest in that niche grows. But with the summer real estate selling season here, lenders need to find more purchase borrowers to stay ahead of the competition. Here are the top five marketing basics that Loan Officers need to win.

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1. Treat your customers like humans Treat your customers like you would want to be treated to connect with them on a deeper level. Make sure you know all of the purchase programs available, but focus your marketing dollars on the programs that are your specialty, like VA, First-Time (FHA), USDA and 203k. Today’s borrower, especially in the purchase niche, wants to have a relationship with his or her lender and be in close contact for updates throughout the process.

2. Benefit your customers, don’t just sell to them There is incredible value in establishing yourself as a trusted resource of financial planning during the mortgage financing process. Different buyers have

different borrowing needs. For many borrowers, buying a home is one of the biggest decisions in their lives. Consumers want to know that you care about helping them achieve the American dream.

3. Invest time in social media Assuming you have already created your own Web presence, the next big step is to establish a social media profile. Investing in social media is a crucial part of building your brand as a Loan Officer. Create a consistent and insightful presence on social media. Spend time online connecting with borrowers via helpful information and by responding to their questions.

Facebook is a great place to connect with first-time buyers as consumers love to share details about their homebuying process.

4. Align yourself with real estate agents to keep your pipeline full Build relationships throughout the real estate community, not just for a specific loan transaction. Connect with real estate professionals on social media networks like LinkedIn and Facebook, and don’t forget to share information with them online. Taking the time to be a trusted resource with real estate professionals will help keep you top of mind when their buyers are ready for funding.

We are once again looking for The Most Connected Mortgage Professionals.

These are individuals who have

“Treat your customers like you would want to be treated to connect with them on a deeper level.

Make sure you know all of the purchase programs available, but focus your marketing dollars on the programs that are your specialty …”

5. Brand building is a marathon, not a sprint Whether it is investing in your social media strategy or updating your personal Web site, make sure you focus on brand differentiation and offering a consistent customer experience.

Building a brand is critical, and that begins with marketing.

Throw away the cookie cutter content everyone else sends to consumers and replace it with authentic, helpful messaging that

connects with borrowers. The key to building a brand is consistency, so don’t get frustrated and give up if results don’t immediately happen.

Invest in your own brand, have patience and give it time.

Now is the time to step up your game. Take advantage of the tools available to you, and start building a marketing mix that will keep consumers coming your way.

a large number of followers on Twitter or likes on Facebook or maybe have a very popular blog or video show.

These individuals will be featured in our July 2018 edition, which has a special focus on Social Media.

Go to http://nmpmag.com/mostconnected

Raymond Bartreau is Founder and Senior Vice President of Lending Partnerships for Best Rate Referrals. A leader with more than a decade of consumer finance marketing experience. Raymond also made National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s list of the Top 40 Mortgage Professionals Under the Age of 40 in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

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The Importance of Strategic Partnerships

By Erica LaCentra

veryone has heard the old adage “It’s not about what you know, but who you know,” so it is surprising how often companies either overlook the importance of developing strategic partnerships or don’t utilize these relationships to fullest. While there is often a great deal of legwork that goes into identifying and establishing connections with potential partners, when done properly, the benefits easily make up for those efforts. Cultivating strong referral relationships should be a high priority for any company as it is a highly effective way to boost visibility of your business and increase your customer base without spending a fortune on marketing.

On the surface, starting the process of forming strategic

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partnerships may seem like a daunting task. However, there is a reason why you are looking to form these alliances. Once you figure out what you are looking to accomplish, you can start researching which potential partners align with these goals.

Researching prospects can be one of the most time consuming parts of this process, however it is a crucial part of ultimately finding the right partners. Here are some factors you can consider when seeking out potential partners.

One of the most obvious things to consider is what commonalities exist between your company and potential referral partners. Seek out companies that offer products or services that cater to a similar industry or niche. This increases your chances of working together because these companies

typically have a similar customer profile and they can easily identify what customer needs exist in the space. When you initiate the discussion of a strategic partnership, they will easily be able to identify if this is an opportunity that would benefits their clients.

Another factor to think about is, does this company provide a complementary product or service. For example, if you are a lender that specializes in real estate investment loans, partnering with a company that provides proprietary data on foreclosure inventory throughout the country is a nobrainer. Finding a company with a complementary product or service allows you to provide your customers with additional resources they might not otherwise have access to with minimal effort. This creates a clear advantage over competitors.

A final factor to consider is, are companies you perceive as competitors, truly your competition. One of the most common mistakes companies make is discounting a potential referral partner because they assume they are a direct competitor. Much like your company has a specialty, a “competitor” also has their established niche. There are often things that your competitor can’t or won’t do.

For example, my company, RCN Capital, has established referral relationships with numerous other lenders that, at the surface, seem to offer identical loan programs.

However, maybe these lenders can’t lend nationwide and receive loan requests from states they can’t do business in. They will send these requests to us. In return, maybe they offer programs that we don’t, like new construction loans or loans for small-balance commercial properties. We will reciprocate by sending those requests to that lender. These pseudo-competitors often make the best referral partners because their customer profile is nearly identical to your company’s. Plus, you now have

an additional resource for customers that may be looking for something you aren’t currently offering.

Once you’ve completed your research and identified potential partners that align with what you are looking to accomplish, it’s time to pitch the partnership to your prospects. When putting together a proposal, it’s important that your partnership clearly outlines the benefits for both involved parties. It can be easy to focus solely on what another company can bring to the table but in order to form a long-lasting relationship, you must create a win-win scenario for both sides.

Developing a mutually beneficial partnership is often as simple as having an initial open conversation with your referral prospect. Start by discussing what synergies exist between your companies and discuss what mutual goals a partnership could accomplish.

From there, develop a plan of action with clearly defined deliverables on each side.

Remember to take into consideration how much effort will be required from each company to achieve these deliverables. Potential partners may not have access to or be able to devote as many resources as you may think, so it’s important to be willing to be flexible with your ask in these situations. If either you or your prospect are concerned that the referral partnership would tax company resources, come up with a plan that starts with smaller deliverables or goals that are spread out over a longer period of time and agree to revisit and modify the partnership on a quarterly basis once you know what is and isn’t working. It is common for partnerships to start slow at first and ramp up over time.

Finally, once you have come to a verbal agreement, make sure that you put that agreement in writing. This protects both your company and your strategic partner in the long run. It gives both you and your prospect one final

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chance to review the terms of the agreement prior to proceeding. There may be things that were not taken into consideration in your initial discussions that come to light when other members of the company review the agreement.

Plus, not only does it solidify the terms of your partnership, but it gives both parties something to refer to should there be any question of what needs to be done and when it needs to be accomplished by. As previously mentioned, there is nothing wrong with including language that the agreement can be revisited or amended in threemonth, six months or even at any time to keep the partnership more flexible.

Once your partnership agreement has been signed by you and your referral partner, you figure that the hardest part is over and its smooth sailing from here, right? The answer to that is yes and no. While meeting set objectives to satisfy your agreement seems like a piece of cake in comparison to the work

you’ve put in to get here, it’s not always that easy. One of the most important things to remember is that communication is key to maintaining a successful referral relationship or strategic partnership. Many referral relationships fail because of lack of communication. You never want to assume that things are fine because no news is good news. You took the effort to initiate a partnership, so make the effort to maintain it.

As your referral relationship is getting off the ground, make sure that you’re checking in with your new partner regularly.

This gives you the opportunity to discuss progress on any objectives that are in the works, see what is and isn’t working out thus far, and it ensures that all expectations are being met.

These touch points don’t necessarily need to be anything time consuming. Something as simple as an email allowing your partner to review the progress of a project promoting

their company so that the messaging is in line or a brief call confirming that some of the leads you agreed to send ended up being a good fit is usually all it takes to keep things running smoothly. Once you figure out the sweet spot of communication frequency, stick to that schedule.

In the same token, don’t be afraid to ask for progress on their side. Strategic partnerships are more likely to end because one party feels like the other isn’t reciprocating the effort. Speak up should you feel that things aren’t in line with your agreement. As long as you have said your piece and offered a

solution, there is no reason why things can’t be adjusted and resolved.

Developing strategic partnerships and referral relationships are a crucial part of building a successful marketing strategy as well as your business as a whole. While there is a great deal of time and effort required to initiate and ultimately maintain these relationships, the monetary cost is minimal, if there is any at all.

When done right, these partnerships are well worth it and you never know what other doors may open for your business as a result.

Erica LaCentra is the Director of Marketing at RCN Capital. She is responsible for planning, developing and implementing RCN Capital’s strategic marketing plan. She can be reached by e-mail at ELaCentra@RCNCapital.com or by phone at (860) 432-5858.

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Five Practical Tips to Get Old-School Professionals on the Digital Marketing Track

By Tuan Pham

Why old school professionals don’t embrace digital n a world buzzing with trends, “old school” professionals are often proud of holding on to their “classic” tried and true ways, and understandably so. Why go off the beaten path? Why spend time, money and effort on territory that is unknown and unproven to them? Admittedly, there is a lot of noise in the digital space and these professionals are ultimately vested in the business of people and relationships, not technology. It also doesn’t help that they occasionally witness the obsessions that a digital world can create–like the social media-photo-crazed colleague who spends time to stage and take countless photos of a champagne glass during happy hour while everyone else is enjoying the bubbly, living in the moment and actually “socializing.” No cheers to that.

Indeed, with every new culture, there tends to be a counter-culture such as the old school professional, that is resistant to change. For these professionals, instead of taking the effort to experiment with new trends that might just work or simply pop and fizzle, they generally opt out or wait it out.

This may be especially true for the busy mortgage professional who is confined by limitations in time, resources, technical know-how, as well as state and federal laws, including RESPA. On top of all this, mortgage originators are naturally more people-oriented anyhow and often prefer face-to-face interaction over the nitty gritty, behind-the-screen work that digital marketers are comfortable with. It is not their cup of tea (or any other preferred beverage for that matter).

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What can help them change their minds?

How can old school professionals be persuaded to

“ … the key reservations that originators have about digital marketing–namely time, resources and technical know-how, all circle around one premise: Will the sales justify the spend? In other words, will it lead to reasonable sales growth and ROI?”

try something new? It starts with a shift in mindset.

Introducing change to those who naturally resist it requires asking them the right questions and offering them answers that make sense from their unique perspective. Try asking the following questions. What do originators have to gain or lose?

What is holding them back?

First, In the digital age, these two factors should help motivate even the most reticent mortgage professional: The Millennial potential and rapid sales growth. While it is understandable for originators to stick to their guns and use what has worked in the past, they simply cannot force old school methodology onto a new age audience that is fundamentally different at the core. This is their “Millennial Dilemma.” Millennials have

different preferences and perspectives over their predecessors, including the way they communicate and the amount they have saved for downpayment on a home. (Hint: It is not the traditional 20 percent that their parents or grandparents used to bring to the table. It is typically less, much less.) Yet, the failure to realize this and understand other Millennial behaviors, such as extensive use of technology, limits the originator from being responsive to the needs of an important and growing segment and puts them at risk of losing future business clients.

Secondly, the key reservations that originators have about digital marketing– namely time, resources and technical know-how, all circle around one premise: Will the sales justify the spend? In other

words, will it lead to reasonable sales growth and ROI? The answer is yes for many of those who have ventured. Originators who focused their efforts on leveraging the best digital technology has to offer have reaped remarkable results, especially while few others have ventured into the space.

Many times, these initiatives do not require a high level of spend or technical skill. For example, some originators have generated several quotes a day through just 30 minutes of interaction with their referral contacts on ActiveRain and LinkedIn. Others have used Facebook targeting and retargeting tools to rapidly expand their client base and carve out unique niches while monitoring trigger events to improve conversion. From search engine optimization (SEO) to e-mail automation to competitive research, these 5 practical tips for mortgage professionals will highlight some of the ways to navigate the digital arena and generate quality leads.

Five practical digital marketing tips for mortgage professionals 1. Leverage Facebook and Instagram trigger events Trigger events bring change to people’s lives. Whether it is an engagement, a new job or a baby on the way, mortgage professionals are trained to look for these types of events because they can also lead to new moves and new mortgages. The best channels to find triggers are on Facebook and Instagram, where users are more likely to share their personal moments, from daily musings to large life events. Loan Originators on these platforms can watch for changes in the lives of the people they follow and offer to help. They can also leverage Facebook advertising tools (which also runs on Instagram) to cast a wider net, hone in on specific events, demographics

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and behaviors, and uniquely market to that audience.

For example, a Mortgage Broker in Los Angeles can create an ad set of people with the following characteristics: l In the Los Angeles Region l Aged between 30-50 l Newly engaged within the last six months

can exponentially multiply their reach. Here are some practical tips for originators to apply on LinkedIn: l Sync e-mail contacts or upload a file of your entire contact database to LinkedIn and connect with all users that exist on its system, giving your network a boost. l Watch for trigger events continued on page 72

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2. Build a referral network through LinkedIn Although LinkedIn also offers a few trigger events, its best usage is for professional business development and establishing referral partners, versus direct-to-consumer targeting like the dynamic duo of Facebook and Instagram. For example, an Originator can use LinkedIn’s advanced search tool

stay relevant with these users on a regular basis. Mortgage professionals used to do this the old fashioned way by visiting Realtors’ offices and attending mixers and open houses. LinkedIn can speed up and enhance this business development process by providing instant access to thousands of potential referral sources. Couple this with the convenience and ease of digital communication, and Originators

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About 12,000 people matched these criteria at the time of writing. The Broker can then test different types of social ads and messaging about finding and financing the ideal home after marriage. By targeting likely working couples right before they get married, the Broker can enter the discussion early and stay top of mind with this audience before many of them might have made their home purchase decisions.

While early birds may catch the homebuyer, they need to move quickly. Current developments with Facebook, brought about by the Cambridge Analytica data breach, may usher in new rules and regulations that will change how user data can be compiled or accessed on social media.

However, until it is restricted, the abundance of data available on Facebook and Instagram allows advertisers to test different audience combinations and ad formats to see which ones are best for generating the right leads for their business.

Even an old school Originator can appreciate this amount of information and the many targeting possibilities that it creates. Unlike non-digital mediums such as print or other digital platforms such as native Web site banners, Facebook/Instagram ads are data-driven, hyper-targeted, fully-trackable and are relatively inexpensive to run with very low minimum spend and bid amounts.

to strategically find and connect with users in their geographical area whose job title may include Real Estate Agent, Accountant, Appraiser and Real Estate Attorney, to name a few. The search can also be targeted to specific keywords, such as CPA to generate even more connections.

However, the real magic is not in the ability to seek and find. It is in the capacity to develop relationships and to

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(birthdays, work anniversaries, promotions, change in employment) and congratulate people in your network accordingly to strengthen relationships. l Engage with posts by your connections. Like, comment and share their property listings, closings, etc. to foster a reciprocal level of engagement and goodwill. l Use endorsements and recommendations as a way to encourage, support and promote one another and elaborate on the level of service provided. l Locate other Originators or even other brokerages that you admire. Study their profile and follow their activity. Learn from their positives as well as their mistakes.

3. Elevate your game by researching your competitors While we may hate to admit it,

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competitors are oftentimes doing something right. The digital age enables originators to research the competition like never before. Why not turn competitors into a source of business? At the least, it will help you elevate your own game. For example, if Originators connect with competitors on LinkedIn, they can often see the connections and groups they are associated with and subsequently add those connections and groups to expand their own network.

Even when competitors hide their connections, Originators may still see the comments they are posting and the people they engage with, some of which may be potential referral sources or have recently posted loan inquiries.

It is important to remember that the digital space is an open market and that competitors may also be doing

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the same thing to others, so being the first to comment on a post should not be the main goal nor should you engage in aggressive competitive behavior. Think about what borrowers or referral partners would want to read. Focus on making better and better conversations and fostering relationships. It takes many iterations and constant learning to win business over your competition on social media.

Those who win tend to do so because they stayed in the game and kept their eyes on the ball and nose to the grindstone. Aside from LinkedIn, there are many other sources for competitive research, including paid tools like SEMrush that offer more robust features to monitor and track your competitors at scale.

In truth, Loan Originators do not have to navigate much further than the Google Search bar to conduct their competitive homework. A search for “Los Angeles Mortgage Broker,” for example, will reveal competitors who are paying for those keywords (hint: top three to four results), and those who rank well organically in search and Google Places. By looking at those search results, Originators can see the content that competitors use in their smallest snippets of information and Google text ads which often highlight their strongest selling points. This enables Originators to either mirror these points or counter them. While it is helpful to see the competitors that are paying for the top search positions, Originators should keep an eye out for those who rank well organically (hint: does not have “AD” in front of the URL) and see what type of content they are using on their Web site or their Google Places page. A lot can be learned, and this research is potentially limitless.

Originators can expand their search for other keywords that a user may type such as “Home Loan in Los Angeles” to reveal more and more competitive intelligence. (Hint: Once you click on competitor pages and search specific

keywords that competitors are paying for, you may begin seeing digital retargeting ads from those competitors and can learn more from those ads).

4. Boost SEO by adding targeted audiences and locations You may ask, “I know what SEO stands for but what is it, really?”

That is the million-dollar (or even billion-dollar) question. There are specialists upon specialists who make careers out of optimizing Web pages for search engines in order to increase online traffic.

These specialists are trying to understand the search engines.

Meanwhile, the search engines are trying to better understand the mystery of “User Intent.”

What is the user is truly looking for? Search engines build search algorithms that are meant to deliver this end goal, but it has become a massive and complex mechanism that connects millions of Web pages on the Internet to a simple search.

There are two facts worth noting: Search algorithms often change, and specialists will never fully understand what causes a Web page to rank, no matter what they may claim. This is why the focus of the Originator should be on writing and providing valuable content for their audience rather than finding ways to game the system such as simply stuffing Web pages or blogs with keywords.

That being said, the following two tips will help originators begin honing their keyword writing skills which is a critical component of SEO. First, do your keyword research organically. Look back on all your sales conversations, text messages, online chats and Web site applications to find commonalities between words and phrases that people are using or typing. What are they looking for? What questions are they regularly asking? What is the main problem they are looking to solve? Begin jotting down a list of keyword phrases.

Make sure to include long-tail keyword phrases such as “Home Loan for Executive in Los Angeles” as well as shorter, continued on page 74

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five practical tips to get old-school professionals on the digital market track continued from page 72

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more common keyword phrases. The better that Originators are at understanding what their audience is looking for, the better they will be at serving that audience with the information they want. Next, put those keywords to use.

Include them throughout your content. It may sound easy, but it takes finesse and a lot of practice to balance the ratio of relevant keywords with an article that makes sense to the end user, has an impact on the search algorithm and reads well.

For those who want to take it one step further, there are dozens of best practices as it relates to on-page SEO that collectively impact search rankings such as title tags, header tags, meta tags, image alt tags, etc. These can be reserved for another article.

There are two easy, often overlooked ways to bolster your keyword treasure chest: Adding audience and location.

If you are targeting specific segments of the population and specific geographical areas, it makes sense to build these keywords into your SEO. Mortgage companies tend to focus on higher volume keywords in their content such as “Home Loan,” which is generally a must-add and a catch-all. Yet, fewer companies spend time on modifiers such as home loan “For Executive” or “In Los Angeles.” These keyword modifiers can often mimic how users search for information and possibly boost your organic rankings. Originators can take it one step further by including specific neighborhoods, zip codes and relevant audience types in their content. It takes time and persistence to move up in ranking for keywords like “Home Loan,” but Originators may be able to see improved results for keywords such as “Home Loan for Young Executive in West LA” by including it in their content.

Overall, search engine ranking continues to be a mystery (for marketers and Originators

alike), but adding these keyword modifiers is a great start.

5. Save time and generate more sales with e-mail automation All of these tips would go to waste if leads were generated, but not converted in the end. It is important to pair lead generation with a specific plan for conversion, executed rigorously and consistently. This is where the secret sauce lies and is also where the greatest amount of work and effort needs to be invested. Luckily, there are many types of automation tools available to help originators stay on task from auto-dialers to appointment apps. One essential tool is e-mail marketing automation. It ensures that regular e-mail communication and touch points are systematically being delivered which often helps improve conversion and loyalty while saving Originators valuable time.

So, how does an Originator launch e-mail automation? Is it overly complex? Truth is, e-mail automation can be an intricate undertaking with multiple pathways and logic filters, but it can also be as simple as a onestep auto-response. Regardless of its size or its scope, the following three keys will ensure automation success.

First, build a road map. Draw a map that shows the journey of a client from start to finish. Add to this journey by plotting micro journeys along the way that are centered around specific conversion goals, such as scheduling a call or completing an application. Imagine the framework of a choose-yourown-adventure book where the different choices a client makes leads them on a series of preconfigured journeys and endpoints. (Hint: A good builder creates pathways that will eventually lead all clients back to where they want them to go.)

Once you have drafted this client journey map, build the specific “triggers” within each micro journey. Make sure the triggers are measurable such as an email open, reply or click through.

Finally, as you craft the subject line and responses to each

trigger, remember that e-mail automation is meant to replicate live e-mail exchanges as much as possible. This means using language and content that you would normally communicate with your client. Try reading your past e-mail conversations to help you develop ideas and capture your tone of voice and choice of words.

If you have never used email automation systems, consider testing a simple tool such as MailChimp. It allows users to create e-mails that will automatically send when triggered by an activity or a date such as a birthday or closing anniversary. Here are a few steps to help originators get started on building a simple micro journey that eventually sends all new prospects to the application form: l Intro e-mail: Create an Introductory E-mail Template that can be sent when a new prospect is added to your New Inquiry List based on an initial email inquiry. Make sure the e-mail has clickable links to your Product Summary, Application Form and FAQ. l New inquiry trigger: Create a trigger based on prospects being added on the New Inquiry List. l Follow-up e-mail–No clicks: Create a Follow Up E-mail Template that can be sent to those who have not clicked on your Introductory E-mail asking them if they would like to schedule a call

l

l

l

l

to discuss your products and the application process.

No Click Trigger: Create a Trigger based on prospects that have not clicked on your Introductory E-mail.

Follow-up E-mail– Products or FAQ Clicks: Create a different Follow-up E-mail Template that can be sent to those who have clicked on your Product Summary or FAQ that outlines the next step in the process which is the Application Form.

Product or FAQ Click Trigger: Create a Trigger based on prospects that clicked on your Introductory E-mail, specifically the Product Summary or FAQ link.

Setup: Build this journey logic … if two, then send one. If one and four, then send three. If one and six, then send five.

Whether you are a die-hard old school professional or one that is simply on the fence about digital marketing, there are many benefits to trying new tools that can save you time, expand your reach, usher in new clients and referral partners, and drive better conversion. Many of these tips are easy to execute and free or inexpensive to use. Try them and share what you think. In the end, there is not much to lose when the tradeoff is minimal investment for potentially great returns. Who knows, you may even become obsessed with digital marketing.

Tuan Pham is Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing at CoreVest Finance. Tuan is responsible for lead generation and customer acquisition across all marketing channels, as well as the growth and development of the brand. For nearly two decades, Pham has managed a diversity of marketing teams and has elevated brands from young startups to Fortune 100 companies.

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Personal Branding is Great, But Lenders Need Guardrails

By Joe Welu

ne thing about marketing is that it’s constantly evolving. For example, it wasn’t too long ago that lenders frowned upon Loan Officers using social media for business. They weren’t alone. In fact, according to Gartner, half of all companies blocked access to social media in 2010. It was simply seen as too risky and uncontrolled, particularly in the regulation-heavy environment of mortgage lending.

Since then, most businesses have embraced social media, especially those that sell to consumers.

Today, a growing number of lenders encourage their producers to use social media for one simple reason–it works.

Now a new marketing trend is catching fire in the mortgage industry: personal branding. But personal branding comes with some risks, too. Are you prepared to handle them?

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How technology can help One of the latest and most popular tools to help Loan Officers pursue personal branding while still protecting the corporate brand is the marketing operating system (MOS), which combines modern marketing and CRM tools with intelligent automation. Similar to how loan origination software is used to manufacture loans in a safe and compliant manner, lenders are increasingly using an MOS to manage the complex marketing process in a B2B2C environment.

An MOS enables Loan Officers to seamlessly promote their personal brand while making sure their efforts are consistent with the corporate brand and compliant with regulations. It allows the flexibility and responsiveness loan officers need to effectively market themselves in their local communities without minimizing the effectiveness of the larger company brand. In a sense, technology can serve as the guardrails for personal branding, ensuring a lender’s policies and procedures are enforced without standing in the Loan Officer’s way.

In today’s hyper competitive mortgage market, Originators need anything that provides an edge.

Personal branding is a powerful way to gain that edge and it should be encouraged, as long as it is in a controlled environment. At the same time, lenders are under intense pressure to grow 75 production while ensuring compliance with regulations. The challenge is made more difficult with the growing number of technologies and communication tools that are available in a controlled environment. It is not simply a matter of a Loan Officer taking and doing anything they want with your company’s branding. Your organization should have the final say on how their personal branding is going to look, feel and sound. Modern technology such as an MOS provides both the necessary guardrails and a powerful engine for growth.

By leveraging new tools to manage personal branding, an organization can arm its sales team with compliant, customized messaging that fortifies the corporate brand. These new tools can also help Loan Officers establish their own brands so they can engage more deeply with consumers. When that happens, everybody wins.

Joe Welu is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Total Expert, a venture-backed Software-as-a-Service technology company. Prior to starting Total Expert in 2012, Joe Co-Founded and led one of the top-selling real estate teams in the U.S., achieving more than $1 billion in sales volume. He can be reached by e-mail at Joe@TotalExpert.com.

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Where trouble can start As personal branding has taken off in the mortgage industry, many lenders find themselves stuck between empowering Loan Officers to create “Mini Brands” while still emphasizing the corporate brand. At the same time, lenders need to ensure they stay compliant with state and federal regulations while growing the business. It can make for a tough situation with The Loan Officers and the organization seemingly at odds.

Loan Officers and their teams that create their own brands by modifying corporate logos and marketing materials–or replacing them altogether–can weaken the

corporate brand. At the same time, lenders need to help Loan Officers market themselves competitively. Many lenders struggle to keep up with Loan Officer demands for more marketing tools and resources, knowing that other lenders are using their own marketing resources to lure away talented producers.

As effective as personal branding may be, it’s important that Loan Officers and their teams are not allowed to use or dispose of the corporate brand as they wish. Organizations need to have a say over not only their own brand, but the look, feel and sound of the “Mini Brand” as well.

The best path is for lenders to enable personal branding for producers that include marketing tools and materials, and guidelines on how, when and where to use them. This permits the lender to encourage personal branding and allow Loan Officers to self-promote and market themselves in new ways, but still gives the lender holistic control over branding. Taking this route also ensures the Loan Officer’s marketing efforts do not violate any regulations or company policies, easing the concerns about compliance by corporate marketing.

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The art of marketing you Personal branding is when a person establishes his or her own brand within an already existing enterprise brand.

The term is believed to have been coined by Tom Peters in a 1997 Fast Company Magazine article, “The Brand Called You,” about how we market ourselves to other people. It’s not hard to see why Loan Officers either purposefully or instinctively gravitate toward personal branding.

While Loan Officers represent the lenders they work for, they control the borrower’s mortgage experience. In this sense, they are the “product” the borrower is looking for and their individual efforts drive a portion of overall revenue. By branding themselves, Loan Officers are more easily recognized for whom they are and what they do. By using a catchy name or phrase, they stand out and become easier to find and remember. The power of personal branding lies in the ability to establish and maintain trust at the community level, which has proven to be a longer and more difficult process for corporate brands.

Whether or not your organization

has a personal brand initiative, your Loan Officers may already be doing it on their own. Many Loan Officers engage in personal branding by using vanity domain names and social media profiles such as “HomesBy[Name]” or some other turn of phrase. Some are combining their brands with the company brand, creating “Mini Brands” with customized logos.

We commonly hear about B2B or B2C marketing, but with personal branding in the mortgage business, these “Mini Brands” have generated a hybrid type of marketing: Business-to-businessto-consumer, or B2B2C. In many cases, the middle “B” has been created by highly entrepreneurial Loan Officers who are customizing the corporate brand with their names and photos.

These Loan Officers want more personal brand customization, a fluid go-to-market experience and the ability to establish trusted relationships throughout the community.

Some lenders give Loan Officers free rein when it comes to personal branding, not wanting to curb their desire to generate publicity for themselves. However, this can create a slippery slope when Mortgage Loan Officers, Bankers, Financial Advisors and Loan Producers begin pushing the envelope on unique personal or team logos, vanity domains and more.

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The Intersection of Social Media & Mortgage Professionals

By Michael Lewis

n recent years, Web sites such as Twitter, Facebook and GooglePlus have been adopted by astute marketers who recognize a new, powerful portal for reaching the consumer public.

The mortgage finance industry, however, has been reluctant to fully utilize this new channel of communication. This may be due to the chaotic condition of the industry following the collapse of the mortgage security sector, the hostile political environment for financial firms and uncertain regulations applying to the new media.

It remains undeniable, though, that the Internet has drastically changed the face of American business in the last two decades, and real estate, like every other industry, is not immune. Currently, there are a variety of opinions on the value and risk of a social media strategy—but the fact is, our society is undergoing a sea change in how consumers acquire, process, and submit information throughout the commercial process.

Just what is the future convergence of social media and mortgage professionals going to look like?

recognize that it is simply another “communications channel,” as William Reichard advised in an article in National Mortgage Professional Magazine, “Just get started and don’t get left behind,” he says.

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The power of social media According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) “Real Estate in a Digital Age 2017 Report,” in 1981, 22 percent of homebuyers read newspaper ads to find a home and eight percent used friends as an information source. In 2016, 44 percent looked for properties online first.

If you’re not using social media to reach this group of prospective customers, your company is at a major competitive disadvantage—and one that’s only going to worsen, as twothirds of the Millennial Generation are likely to continue this trend.

There are a great many ways mortgage companies can use social media to reach this broad consumer contingent. l Define your brand. Social media allows you to present

“Since social media is an interactive process, your presence allows you to learn a lot about your prospects.

An ongoing dialogue over these platforms can be more illuminating than paid market research …”

any image you want to your potential customers. You can build a reputation around your values, expertise, the benefits of your services, and the competitive advantages you offer over others in the industry. l Identify potential customers.

Since social media is an interactive process, your presence allows you to learn a lot about your prospects. An ongoing dialogue over these platforms can be more illuminating than paid market research, if handled appropriately. l Become an online authority.

Having a significant social media base creates instant credibility and can transform you into an authority in your market. As you become more visible, other opportunities for exposure and partnerships may arise, as well, such as media interviews and joint

venture opportunities. l Market your service.

Repeated exposure is essential to building a strong customer base. Using social media properly can provide multiple outlets for such exposure, allowing you to constantly repeat your message in different formats for maximum effectiveness. l Reduce administrative costs.

Educating prospective customers about how mortgages work can not only make them better-informed, it can reduce staff time significantly. l Gain a competitive advantage. Many mortgage firms are reluctant to use social media due to the perceived legal and compliance risks—even though other regulated financial firms are actively developing social media programs. Managers should

The big three social media sites l Facebook: As of the fourth quarter of 2017, Facebook had 2.2 billion monthly active users, making it the world’s largest social media site. In that same time frame, 1.4 billion active users visited Facebook on a daily basis, and available analytics on them rival search engine optimization (SEO) packages, as they allow you to hone your message and use targeted tactics.

As with all social media platforms, content quality on Facebook is key. Write concise, useful posts, and avoid doing so too frequently—like your Web site, visitors are more interested in what you can do for them than what they can do for you. It is especially important to create a great fan page as these have the potential to generate more traffic than company sites. In addition to these opportunities, Facebook allows paid advertisements.

These can be restricted by subject, region and time of day. You may also pay to promote posts. l Twitter: As of the fourth quarter of 2017, Twitter averaged at 330 million monthly active users, According to findings from a 2014 study by the analytics firm Twopcharts, approximately 44 percent of all people signed up for Twitter have never sent a single tweet, but actively watch other tweets, making this platform an incredible opportunity to reach a wide audience. Using hashtags to highlight subjects allows you to group tweets of the same

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topic together and thus provide a path for new followers to find you. Keep in mind, though, that experts advise limiting hashtags to no more than two per tweet, since they can be difficult to read and may be considered spam. l LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a business-oriented social media site, used primarily for professional networking by its approximately 500 million users as of the first quarter of 2017, up from 467 million users the previous year. There is already a significant industry presence on LinkedIn. A recent search indicated more than 3,000 groups associated with the term “mortgage,” including the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 49,681 members; 35,345 general mortgage professionals; and 373 groups dealing specifically with “Home Mortgages.”

Groups are generally open to anyone, and include the postings, discussions and resumes of LinkedIn members.

consistency, inclusiveness and transparency in your writing and publication.

Final thoughts As Steven J. Ramirez, writing in the April 25, 2014 issue of National Mortgage Professional Magazine, was clear about the benefits: “Bottom line ... when used correctly, social media can be one of the most valuable business tools readily available to lenders today.”

Social media is not going away, despite attempts to regulate or hinder its use.

Smart mortgage professionals are going to develop new strategies consistent with pending regulations and move quickly to gain market advantage—others are going to be left behind. Where will your company stand?

Mike Lewis is a retired business executive and personal finance columnist.

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Not everyone agrees that a social media marketing approach is worthwhile, considering the risks involved. Mark Madsen,

Marketing Officer at LeaderOne Financial, claims that the number of potential risks is overwhelming if you take into consideration the full digital marketing sales and conversions funnel.

“I can tell you with 100 percent confidence that a simple less-risky Internet marketing strategy will produce more revenue for your mortgage company than worrying about a multi-channel social media advertising campaign,” Madsen advises.

He also suggests that consumer-direct marketing strategies and niche websites focused upon consumer education are not only less risky, but more effective. The rule-ofthumb for any marketing campaign, Madsen cautions, whether consumer-direct or social media-based, is

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Other important social media sites l YouTube: YouTube boasts more than 1.3 billion visitors, with more than 30 million visitors to the site per day.

Free to view by all members, videos range from simple to elaborate, produced by teenagers using mobile phone video cameras and major studios and television networks alike.

A recent query on the term “Mortgage” produced 1,690,000 results, such as, MoneyWeek’s “Beginners’ Guide to Mortgages” with 280,000-plus views, and “How to Pay Off a Mortgage Quickly,” with 797,000 views.

A strong, informational video can build and enhance your brand with minimal updates, but quality of content and presentation are essential.

In November 2013, Google announced that anyone using YouTube had to use their GooglePlus usernames. This move set the stage for the development of YouTube as a social media platform. l GooglePlus: GooglePlus boasts 540 million active users. At least one social media industry observer believes that the future may be

less about users interacting with friends and more about their harnessing social data to navigate and discover the world around them. Google has indicated that GooglePlus profiles are going to factor more in search rankings over time. This makes it a critical platform for businesses to explore. l Pinterest: Pinterest has approximately 150 million users, with non-U.S. users now the majority of those signing up. Like YouTube, Pinterest features visual media—images and videos— and emphasizes active user involvement. Accounts can be linked to other social media platforms, as well. Women users outnumber males almost two-to-one on the site. l Web pages and blogging: Virtually every business in the mortgage industry maintains one or more proprietary Web sites generally providing information about the history of the company, its employees and services. Some of these sites consist of static pages that are changed infrequently, while others maintain a blog or a section with regular updates or posts on subjects of interest to targeted customers and prospects. l Compliance and social media: While institutions may be concerned about unknowingly violating rules and regulations with their social media campaigns, those violations are not likely to be extraordinary or unmanageable. All that is required is a thorough understanding of laws relating to social media, and an active risk management program.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) will be issuing guidance to ensure that firms adequately address compliance and reputation risks for social media activities. Before and after those guidelines are announced, however, all dealings with the public should be truthful, transparent, and beneficial to the community.

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Combine Direct Mail and Digital Marketing Campaigns for Maximum Response

By Michelle B. Peel

targeted across multiple devices. We often target the same people at the same time via multiple channels. Direct mail can help ground and anchor all these communications, with digital marketing channels driving message reinforcement.

Savvy mortgage originators are using data to create relevant, one-to-one messaging that attracts and acquires potential applicants.

Data-driven direct mail used in an omnichannel marketing campaign that involves multiple touchpoints, including e-mail and digital channels, can drive an increase in leads and loan closures.

t’s 2018. Why should tech-savvy mortgage originators read about direct mail marketing when their goal is to be disrupters? Isn’t direct mail a vintage, retro marketing approach?

The truth is, in an age of complex marketing noise, a well-executed direct mail campaign may actually be a tech-savvy marketer’s best friend.

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Why use direct mail? it separates the signal from the noise Direct mail is a disrupter because it separates the signal from the noise for your customer acquisition efforts.

Amidst all the marketing noise—we see thousands of sales messages a day, many of them online—direct mail is the signal that breaks through and acts as a call to action. Direct mail is there when your prospects get home. Direct mail is targeted. Direct mail provides real estate to tell your story. Direct mail receives a response that is far greater than other channels.

In fact, direct mail outperforms all digital channels combined by nearly 255 percent. As highlighted in the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) 2017 Response Rate Report, direct mail achieves a 5.1 percent response rate when using a house list. In comparison, no single digital channel achieves even a one percent response rate—with email at 0.8 percent response, paid search at 0.6 percent, social channels at 0.4 percent, and online display at 0.2 percent.

Mortgage originators understand the value direct mail provides and use it accordingly. Over the past three years, mortgage-related direct mail volume increased by 44 percent, from 204 million pieces in the first quarter of

“Over the past three years, mortgage-related direct mail volume increased by 44 percent, from 204 million pieces in the first quarter of 2015 to 294 million pieces in the first quarter of 2018.”

2015 to 294 million pieces in the first quarter of 2018. The mortgage sector (including purchase mortgages, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans) mailed nearly 1.2 billion direct mail pieces in 2017.

According to the DMA, financial services companies are the heaviest users of direct mail. In fact, in 2017, financial services accounted for 47 percent of all direct mail volume in the U.S., according to market research company Mintel Comperemedia.

Direct mail’s role in omnichannel mortgage campaigns: The new “It” We’ve all heard about the value of omnichannel marketing campaigns. We also know how direct mail is a proven

acquisition tool. So it stands to reason that mortgage originators can get excellent results when they combine the advantages of direct mail with the advantages of digital marketing channels. Direct mail brings a very high degree of reach—more than 80 percent of direct mail is opened, there’s more space to tell your story, and it can bring to bear a high degree of personalization—all of which contributes to a high level of response. On the digital marketing side, advantages include low cost and the ability to exercise greater frequency— and the ability to get a campaign up and running quickly.

The marketing landscape is fragmented, and potential mortgage applicants can be

Tips for synchronizing direct mail and digital mortgage marketing campaigns Where do you start? How do you synchronize direct mail with digital marketing campaigns? Your direct mail provider begins by setting up and receiving a data feed from the USPS with the Intelligent Mail barcode. This proprietary API feed enables your marketing agency to target digital ads to the day mail arrives in-home. The direct mail contact file is uploaded and matched to various online cookies, IP addresses, and Facebook IDs. Contacts that are matched with both a postal address and a virtual footprint become the treatment audience. Typically, one would set up a test that involves a direct mail holdout only, as well as test cells that receive both direct mail and a Facebook or display ad.

Depending on the media purchase, the potential mortgage applicants might receive a direct mail touch and then multiple digital impressions over the next 30 days, usually at least once a day. Consider these specific ways to integrate direct mail

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and digital campaigns for your next marketing effort:

Michelle B. Peel, Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager at IWCO Direct, has more than 20 years of direct marketing industry experience. She may be reached by e-mail at Michelle.Peel@IWCO.com or visit IWCO.com.

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Omnichannel targeting and frequency delivers high performance for mortgage originators Outside of the digital overlay process, pixel-targeted direct mail campaigns, e-mail listening, and social linkage targeting are triggered, enabling you to reach potential mortgage applicants with relevant communications while they are interested, leveraging the advantages that direct mail brings. In all of these combinations of direct mail and digital marketing campaigns, you have the ability to increase response and conversion to create new mortgage customers.

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l Digital overlay: Starting with direct mail allows you to target on the individual level.

When an audience is targeted via a predictive model using direct mail and digital marketing in a single campaign, you are maximizing the impact of multiple contacts across channels to reach those most likely to respond. Compare this to running separate direct mail and Facebook campaigns at the same time, when you have no assurance your campaigns are reaching the right people at the same time. l Pixel-targeted direct mail campaigns: Connecting direct mail to digital marketing campaigns doesn’t end with digital overlay. You can use pixel-targeted, or what some call digitally automated, direct mail. A pixel of code is placed on all pages where you want to capture visitor information.

This allows you to capture either cookie-based info or an IP address, which is then instantly matched to consumer datasets, enabling you to identify a postal address. This can typically identify 35-45 percent of traffic on the page. The data feed is then translated into a triggered mortgage direct mail piece, which can be in the mail within 24 hours. Like any triggered communication, what this does is take advantage of that potential mortgage applicant’s current interest so you can reach them via a medium like direct mail that has a high level of reach and the ability to tell a story in a non-disruptive environment. l E-mail listening: E-mail listening takes advantage of the fact that when a link in a promotional e-mail is clicked, that behavior is tracked via the use of single session cookies that are set up by

your E-mail Service Provider (ESP) to enable campaign tracking and better navigation through a Web site. Typically, these links contain cue words relative to the product. For example, when someone clicks on a link that includes the words “Apply for Loan,” that information is captured. The e-mail doesn’t need to be your promotional e-mail; it can be any promotional email. This click behavior is matched daily to more than one billion single-session cookie IDs and from there, a savvy marketing partner can produce an e-mail address and a direct mail file at a 70 percent match rate. Like pixel-targeted e-mail, direct mail trigger campaigns can then be set up. l Social linkage targeting: Facebook advertising is “inplatform” advertising—you are placing ads based on the confines of Facebook’s ad requirements. Social linkage is different. It is based on the ability to match social IDs from any Web site—yours or your competitors’—and associated behavior—Likes, Follows, Shares—to e-mail, and from there to a direct mail postal address. Direct mail trigger campaigns can be used here too.

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Validating Referral Marketing hey used to say that it takes an average person seven times seeing an ad before even recalling the brand.

Nowadays, though, there is so much vying for your attention in print and online, that I find that hard to believe, especially since it is estimated that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements every single day.

Now, imagine a small mortgage business trying to break through the clutter to the other side of the customer. That is very difficult when a person is exposed to thousands of messages every day. When you factor in all the social media forums like Google, Instagram and Facebook, print ads, commercials, t-shirts with brand labels, etc., it is easy to realize we are all a victim of mass marketing. Although less than 100 of those ads actually make it past our “Attention Wall” each day, as mortgage professionals and businesspeople, the challenge is clear–our messaging must be creative, memorable and engaging to stand out and be remembered.

And when a customer needs to find a mortgage broker, the task is even harder since we are a dime a dozen.

For small businesses to not only survive, but thrive, we need to be tactic-oriented and content-driven. We also need to make sure we are properly targeting our audience by first assessing our referral base. Not only is it cost-effective in comparison to buying leads and placing ads, but customers are your most valuable resource.

Referral marketing has the potential to be your most powerful marketing tool when implemented effectively.

The importance of referral marketing cannot be stressed enough, and this can be done in several ways that costs your business very little money.

Referral marketing is all about using your best resources–your customers, friends, family and employees–to help you spread the word about your products

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and services. Such examples of this include: l Implementing a customer relationship management program l Requesting and sharing customer reviews l Network, network, network Updating your database with the contact information and email addresses you receive while working with real estate brokers, financial planners and certified public accountants should be the first point of action and occur with every new lead.

Once your database is established, research a customer relationship management program that will help you send defined emails. By using today’s advanced technology, marketing e-mails will be sent out automatically on a schedule. They are efficient, cost-effective and designed to deliver maximum results. Whether it is celebrating a holiday, informing them about current rates or acknowledging their loan anniversary, you can nurture your contacts with each touch point. By triggering these types of thought leadership techniques, your contacts are sure to recommend you to their friends and associates.

Many of these CRM programs already have content developed so all you have to do is set the automated and personalized campaigns for your referral sources and forget it. Not only does it take some of the responsibility off your plate, but it is also the perfect tool for nurturing relationships and acquiring new leads. In fact, 50 percent of top performing companies use marketing automation for customer retention. These tools are professionally designed by marketing and communication experts and have identified various data points and metrics that know when to send out a particular message, how often and in what format. This type of referral marketing is one of the strongest strategies you can use to grow your business.

As a small business owner, it is ever more challenging to go up against the big lenders with their

By Tom Pasckvale

millions of advertising dollars.

What has been beneficial to us, however, is that we offer our customers exceptional service and make sure they are happy by going above and beyond to secure them a great deal and smooth experience overall. Thankfully, this simple strategy has been the cornerstone of our business and we have been able to generate 90 percent of our business through referrals. Once the loan has successfully closed, we tap into our customers to provide feedback by sending them a link and encouraging them to write a review and rate our business.

One of the most powerful outcomes of social media marketing is that customers who have utilized your services will tell their stories and ultimately tell your story too. Content is fire, social media is gasoline.

Businesses must be sociallysavvy and embrace this form of marketing because these messages come in the form of useful content that would delight their intended audience. These reviews tell stories that create an emotional connection. Customers are your most precious resource because they have already expressed confidence in you by closing their loan with you. So, make sure it is a positive experience. Then, share it on your Facebook, Google, Yelp, Instagram and LinkedIn pages, and any others, to boost the number of people who will see this.

Outside of connecting with our customers and referral partners, we have integrated ourselves with the local community to build our network. We are volunteering with schools, the local government, advising on boards and are active members of real estate and business associations. By showing up and getting involved with the community, not only are we doing a good deed, but we

are surrounding ourselves with like-minded people who may be a great resource for growth.

There are many associations where you can develop and cultivate long-lasting, mutuallybeneficial business relationships that include real estate agents.

Although your membership may come at the nominal price of hosting a breakfast, it is still an opportunity for you to approach the agents and educate them on your services and products. Open this door and you will have the chance to interact with these professionals in a more laid-back environment. Many of these notfor profit associations also offer their own full calendar of networking events and seminars, where they may even handle the promotional marketing for you.

Your referral marketing can be rejuvenated simply by joining one of these. Some industry groups offer new member orientations, which are perfect because you are meeting real estate agents just as they are entering the field and they will look to you for your expertise in the financing arena.

In today’s marketplace, mortgage professionals need to outsmart, outplay and outwit the competition. Referral marketing is a powerful and important component for every business. To stand out from the crowd, be sure to implement some fundamental tactics, like activating a CRM program, joining an association and sharing positive reviews online, to help encourage and facilitate the referral process. This can ultimately be a major source for closing more loans. The gateway to generating business and leveraging your resources is right at your fingertips. Don’t throw your hands up in the air because you are overwhelmed by all the thousands of ads you see daily. Instead, start looking towards your customers and find a way to nurture them today.

Tom Pasckvale is a Managing Partner at Top Vine Mortgage Services LLC in Watchung, N.J. Licensed in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia and Florida, he was listed as one of the “40 Under 40: The 40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals Under 40” for two consecutive years by National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He can be reached by phone at (844) 545-9251, e-mail TPasckvale@TopVineMTG.com or visit TopVineMTG.com.

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Social Media and Its Connection to the Customer and the Community

By Andrew Smith

them to your social platforms. If media content is representative t my company, Towne like budgeting tips for potential possible, ask to tag the customer our commitment to our Mortgage Family of homeowners, increasing your in the content and include their customers, our family values, and Companies, we use credit score or the difference picture. This not only gives our commitment to improving the social media in a between good debt and bad debt. customers an opportunity to sing towns we serve. Your company’s number of ways to You can also create informational your praises, but this will speak mission statement should be build and expand our product posts that include a direct volumes to potential new visible in your overall marketing, community presence. Social media link back to your company Web customers that are following you. and branding on social platforms should focus on community, not just site or call center number for more l Your content should champion is included in that. For some being an alternative to print information. your staff and community customers, what they see on your advertising. l Your content should engage partners: This area is especially social media will be the With more than 81 percent of the your local community: important if your company is introduction to your company.

U.S. population engaging in social Community outreach initiatives looking to add new employees, or Make sure your content highlights media, it’s safe to say social media is should be showcased on your if you do a lot of business with your core values, and also here to stay. Various forms of social company’s social media platforms. community organizations and real engages them to want to visit your platforms are continuing to add more This type of content can humanize estate agents. Social media is website or call for more and more ways to engage users. your business, and demonstrates also a great recognition tool for information on your products and Therefore, businesses must have a your commitment to bettering the companies to show their services. presence on social media. This communities your company serves. connection to communities. From includes the mortgage industry, if This should be included on all your a staffing point, using your social So what have we learned? Social used properly, social media could be digital marketing tools including media to highlight things like a job media can benefit your mortgage an important tool to connect your your Web site. Community content well done by loan officers, staff company by educating your company to potential customers and is not just limited to your birthdays or work anniversaries, customer base, engaging the their communities. We incorporate this company’s community service or other employee-related content community you do business in, knowledge into our daily marketing programs, but can also include can help display company recognizing happy customers, plans and this has extended our reach local charity and fundraising events culture. It will also engage and promoting testimonials, and in the communities we serve and the that your followers can get involved attract future employees who may championing your staff and overall industry. in. This type of content can also 81 use your social media to research community partners. All of these Your social media content should increase your page visits if your your company before applying. areas can help generate new mirror your company brand and serve page includes community Make sure you are also including business and set you apart from as a digital doorway to your current happenings and local news stories. content that shows fun employee other companies. Post content and prospective customers. It should l Your content should recognize outings or holiday celebrations regularly and be diverse, engaging, promote you as a resource to the your current customer closings: that promote that your company and represent your company’s local communities and show that you There is nothing more important is THE PLACE to work. From a brand. have a personal stake in helping the than happy customers. Company community standpoint, content While having proper content is community your customers live in. In marketing should include them as that showcases community very important, having an this digital age, potential new much as possible. Social media is partner recognition is a great way understanding of how to analyze it, is customers are not picking up the a perfect platform to do this and to engage with them online and just as important. Many tools are phone to call you, but are logging on customer feedback will help to strengthen relationships off line. available on each social media to Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to increase the actual engagement Quite often companies will platform that provide analytics. see what you can offer them. So (Comments, Likes and Shares) that acknowledge the relationship and Lastly, statistics show that 71 make sure you wow them with your your social media sees daily. You share on their social media percent of all consumers are more content and your community ties. can include pictures of the pages, acknowledging that you likely to make a purchase based off a We have used social media in a customers at the closing with are not only doing business in social media referral, and please number of ways to build and expand customer permission. This shows your community, but that you are believe that mortgage products are our community presence. Here are potential customers why they invested as well. Lastly, it is a included in that too. Social some helpful ways to make sure your should do business with your best practice to use your social networking works for mortgage social networks connect you to your company. If you have a customer networks to thank customers for companies! As long as you stay true community and your customers: referral program, you can highlight their business. to your brand and have consistency the customers that refer new l Your content should be in your messaging and focus, you will l Your content should educate customers to your company. For inclusive of your company’s see it pay dividends in the long run. and show you as an expert: added engagement, take a video mission statement: We are So get your graphics, Web links, Using social media for business of the closing and post on your passionate about our customers, images and videos together … your purposes should always be social networks. and the communities we serve. customers and your community are educational and informative to l Your content should promote Therefore, we ensure our social just a post away. followers, because followers view customer reviews and you as an industry expert. This is testimonials: Good reviews go a very important for the mortgage long way in business, and help businesses, since potential build credibility and trust with your Andrew Smith serves as the Chief Executive Officer of customers want to feel like their online customer audience. Set up a Towne Mortgage Company. He serves on the board at mortgage company is a reliable review section on your Facebook American Community Homes as a stakeholder and as and creditable lender in the business page and ask current CEO. Andrew is a veteran in the financial services community. Ideas for content can customers to leave their feedback, industry. With more than 25 years of experience in fixed include mortgage term definition, or accept testimonial emails on income markets, he has modeled, traded and constructed infographics or articles on topics your company website and share portfolios of RMBS and CMBS over that time.

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Leveraging Today’s Digital Mortgage: Using SEO to Close More Loans

By Kelcey Brown

s people spend more and more time online, their Internet habits follow them as they search for homes and mortgages.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 95 percent of homebuyers and 99percent of Millennials went online to search for homes.

Thus, it’s vital for anyone–Loan Officers and Realtors especially–trying to grab people’s attention to be present online.

Spending time online starts in the same place for most people–search engines. Eager homebuyers grab their laptop, click on Safari, Chrome or Internet Explorer, get brought to their home page, which is usually Google, and search “Homes Near Me” or “Mortgage Calculator.”

Google maintains a lion’s share of the search engine market, with an 87 percent stake in the United States’ market, according to StatCounter.

According to a Search Engine Land report, Google handled trillions of searches as of 2016. That means, at the bare minimum, it processed two trillion searches annually.

That equates to 5.5 billion searches per day, 3.8 million per minute, and 63,000 every second. 63,000 Google searches just happened … and happened again … and again … and again …

But it’s not enough to just be present … people need to stand out.

“Amidst all that volume, how can someone possibly stand out,” you might ask. With search engine optimization (SEO).

Before embarking on an SEO campaign–or any campaign for that matter– people need to conduct research. For SEO campaigns, research encompasses keywords and search volumes.

Keywords provide the basis for SEO campaigns because,

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“According to a study by Chitika, Web sites that land on the first page of Google search results receive 95 percent of search traffic. Moreover, the first organic result on the first page takes nearly one-third of traffic.”

well, they provide the basis for search engines themselves and the algorithms that they’re built on.

When a user hops on a search engine, he/she types in a query consisting of a word, group of words, phrase, or question. Thus, keywords provide the basis for his/her search. The search engine takes that query, scans it against its index of Web sites, Web pages, and other online content, filters the relevant results, and delivers said results in order from most to least relevant.

If a borrower were to search “Mortgage,” they’d receive more than 477 million results in just 0.42 seconds. According to a study by Chitika, Web sites that land on the first page of Google search results receive 95 percent of search traffic.

Moreover, the first organic

result on the first page takes nearly one-third of traffic.

So, how do we get onto the first page of results?

First, conduct a brainstorm.

Think of as many possible keywords and phrases that your target audience might type into Google or another search engine.

If you can, segment them.

For example, as a Mortgage Banker, you might segment search terms into categories like Mortgage Calculator, Refinance, VA, FHA, Jumbo, Interest Rates, and Pre-Qualification, to name a few.

Then, devise keywords and phrases for each category. For the “Mortgage Calculator” category, it could include keywords like “Mortgage Price” and phrases like “How much will my mortgage cost?”

After a thorough brainstorm, you can scan and filter the

keywords and phrases to discover their search volumes.

Terms’ highness or lowness of search volume determine their level of importance to the campaign and if they should make it in at all. Programs like Google Trends, Keyword Planner, Moz, and SERPs are great tools to discover search term volume.

After determining what keywords and phrases pose most beneficial to your business and most useful by your target audience, you can implement them through on-page and offpage tactics.

Off-page tactics include meta data, alt tags, header tags, and more. Some content management systems allow you to edit these factors on the backend of the site.

Meta data is information that describes a set of data. In other words, meta data provides a summary of your Web site and its content to search engines. The meta data provides a high-level view through meta tags, which consist of meta descriptions and keywords. Meta descriptions, along with title tags, compose what you see on Google search results pages. For a given listing, the title tag provides the blue headline that you click; the meta description provides the brief summary of the Web page below the headline.

Here’s a meta data example for a lender that specializes in VA loans in Texas. A solid headline would be “VA Loans in Texas | Mortgages for Texas Veterans.”

This headline works well because it features keywords relevant to what its target customers would search for on Google. It also puts “VA Loans” early in the headline, which adds value to search engine rankings. The meta description should not only include keywords, but entice a searcher to click on the headline.

Using a call to action, an effective headline could be, “Find the best VA Loan options in all of Texas. We deliver the best mortgage options for veteran homebuyers.”

Although you will use header tags, links, and keywords

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it ranks in Google.

Perhaps the best part about SEO—or all digital marketing for that matter—is the analytics.

With Google Analytics, you collect valuable data like which keywords drive site traffic, what percentage of people visit your site on mobile devices, which pages cause people to ditch the site, and if social media is directing a lot of referrals.

Mortgage originators must continuously optimize to stay on

top of search results and drive conversions. It might sound like a lot of work, but it’s worth it.

Just look at Amazon, a $700plus billion company built on the Internet.

Kelcey Brown is Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President at WebMax. Kelcey is responsible for developing, communicating, executing and sustaining strategic initiatives. He acts as a key advisor to president on critical changes in the competitive landscape, internal employee development and the external business environment, while also ensuring that appropriate metrics are in place to measure performance and progress towards strategic goals.

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throughout your site, blogging provides a clear example of how to employ header tags, linkbuilding, and keyword deployment.

Just as meta tags convey to search engines a summary of your site, header tags convey what is important about the given content being presented.

Essentially, header tags separate the tagged content from common body content, which creates a hierarchy of importance for search engines.

For instance, if a lenders wants to employ the keyword, “mortgage payments”, more throughout its site, it may create a blog article with the header, “10 Ways to Lower Your Mortgage Payment.” The header, equipped with a header tag, emphasizes the keyword while telling both the reader and search engine what the article is about.

Building off of the header and header tag, it would be wise to deploy relevant keywords in this article such as “Mortgage,” “Mortgage Payments,” “Credit Score” and “Interest Rate.” That said, bloggers cannot just throw a bunch of keywords together to try and game search engines.

According to Moz, Google changes its search algorithm 500-600 times every year.

Sometimes the changes are major, but oftentimes, they’re minor. It doesn’t just scan for keywords, it scans for content that it deems will provide the most relevant, useful information for the searcher.

Another key way to boost SEO is link-building. This includes linking to credible external sites and creating an internal link structure—like when you’re reading an article and click a link to another article, or scanning a home page and clicking on a “Get Started” button that brings you to a form fill-out page.

For a mortgage bank, external linking could entail linking to real estate affiliates; internal links could entail setting an “Apply Now” button on the bottom of a mortgage calculator page. Now you’re not just building links; you’re driving action and generating leads.

Think of links to your website like rebar to concrete; the more you have, the stronger the structure. The stronger the structure of your site, the higher

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Attention Recruiters, Business Development Managers and HR Professionals PRMG 1-855-PRMG-FAN! (855-7764-326) www.PRMG.net Built by originators for originators, PRMG was born from a vision of creating a company with a unique culture focused on the successes of the producer. We understand what it takes to be a successful originator and cultivate new business every day.

REMN Wholesale 732-738-7100 www.remnwholesale.com Although REMN Wholesale is part of a large corporation, it feels like a “Mom and Pop”-style company. We encourage our team members to grow and we train and promote each individual to their full potential. As a national company, REMN provides many opportunities for employment from coast to coast.

United Wholesale Mortgage 800-981-8898 www.uwm.com/careers Voted the #1 place to work in Metro Detroit, UWM is looking for A players to join our talented team. Our business is driven by our culture, and our people are our greatest asset. If you’re looking for the opportunity of a lifetime, apply to UWM today!

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We are pleased to announce a new package that will give your firm the recruiting tools to instantly shift your recruiting efforts into high gear using a multimedia, market-saturating approach. We will utilize the most successful methods that our clients have been using to find, identify and place top talents for your company. We have designed these packages with the concept of making it less expensive to give you the ability to reach more people.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE 1220 Wantagh Avenue Wantagh, New York 11793-2202 516-409-5555 Fax: 516-409-4600 E-mail: advertise@MortgageNewsNetwork.com

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

calendar of events

MAY 2018 Thursday-Sunday, May 3-6 MBAG’s 2018 Annual Convention Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa 4000 South Sandestin Boulevard Destin, Fla. For more information, visit MBAG.org.

Sunday-Wednesday, May 20-23 Mortgage Bankers Association Commercial/Multifamily Servicing & Technology Conference 2018 InterContinental Miami 100 Chopin Plaza Miami For more information, visit MBA.org.

Saturday-Tuesday, May 5-8, 2018 NAMB Members Only 2018 Legislative & Regulatory Conference The Mayflower Hotel 1127 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, D.C. For more information, visit NAMB.org.

Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference & Expo 2018 New York Marriott Marquis 1535 Broadway New York, N.Y. For more information, visit MBA.org.

AUGUST 2018 Wednesday-Saturday, August 15-18 Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals 2018 Annual Convention & Trade Show Walt Disney World Dolphin 1500 Epcot Resorts Boulevard Lake Buena Vista, Fla. For more information, visit MyFAMP.org.

SEPTEMBER 2018 Friday, September 7 UAMP Annual Mortgage Expo Marriott @ City Creek 75 South West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah For more information, visit UAMP.net.

OCTOBER 2018 Sunday-Wednesday, October 14-17 Mortgage Bankers Association 2018 Annual Conference & Trade Show Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW Washington, D.C. For more information, visit MBA.org.

To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with contact information, to newsroom@mortgagenewsnetwork.com. *Looking for additional exposure at key industry events?

Call 516.409.5555, ext. 4 to discover how to maximize your event coverage.

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Thursday, May 17 NYAMB’s 30th Annual Wholesale Conference & Trade Show The Woman’s Club of White Plains 305 Ridgeway White Plains, N.Y. For more information, visit NYAMB.org.

JUNE 2018 Thursday-Friday, June 21-22 NEXT June Conference Hotel Zaza 2332 Leonard Street Dallas For more information, visit NEXTMortgageConference.com.

DECEMBER 2018 Saturday-Monday, December 8-10 NAMB National 2018 Caesars Palace 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, visit NAMB.org.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Thursday, May 10 Maryland Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association Annual Conference 2018 Loews Annapolis Hotel 126 West Street Annapolis, Md. For more information, visit MMBBA.org.

Monday-Tuesday, May 21-22 NRMLA 2018 Eastern Regional Meeting Intercontinental New York Times Square 300 West 44th Street New York City, N.Y. For more information, visit nrmlaonline.org.

JULY 2018 Monday-Tuesday, July 30-31 Summer CAMP 2018: Destination Coronado!

Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa 2000 Second Street Coronado, Calif.

For more information, visit TheCAMPSite.org.

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LENDERS COMPLIANCE GROUP 167 West Hudson Street - Suite 200 Long Beach | NY | 11561 | (516) 442-3456 www.LendersComplianceGroup.com The first full-service, mortgage risk management firm in the country, specializing exclusively in mortgage compliance.

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AUDIT, MLO POLICIES and UPDATES Our fees are less than the big national firms

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governance documents, and our audit protection plan.

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If you find yourself in federal court, we can handle that as well.

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Division of Lenders Compliance Group, BCG is the first and only mortgage risk management firm in the U.S. devoted to supporting the unique compliance needs of residential mortgage brokers.

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TagQuest www.tagquest.com 888-717-8980 TagQuest is a full service marketing firm created specifically for the ever changing mortgage business. We have tested and proven campaigns for FHA -VA - HARP - CONVENTIONAL loan types.

TagQuest knows what it takes to generate quality leads whether through direct mail marketing, telemarketing, internet leads, data lists, tracking systems, or any combination thereof. TagQuest will brand your company, prepare targeted marketing campaigns that generate interest in your company, and most importantly, show you how to turn sales leads into repeat customers.

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Greenbox Loans, Inc 3250 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1900 Los Angeles, CA, 90010 (800) 600-9198 www.greenboxloans.com

WHOLESALE LENDERS

REMN Wholesale www.remnwholesale.com 866-933-6342 REMN has FHA, USDA, 203k, VA and Conventional solutions to fit the needs of your customers. But, at REMN, our most valuable product is our people. The REMN Sales and Operations Teams give you - and your loans - the time and attention that you deserve. Even better, at REMN, same-day approvals are guaranteed.* You can rely on us to get the little, yet vital, things taken care of on time.

Interested in joining our Wholesale Division?

Send your resume to aerecruiting@remn.com

Go to http://nmpmag.com/mostconnected

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2018

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Greenbox Loans, Inc. is a proven leader in the Non-QM & Non-Prime lending environment offering bank statement programs, foreign national lending solutions, along with programs allowing for recent short sale, foreclosure, bankruptcy for borrowers as low as 500 Fico Score. Greenbox Loans, Inc. is a national lender offering its programs through a multiple of channels including Retail, Wholesale, and Investor Specialty division.

We are once again looking for the Most Connected Mortgage Professionals. These are individuals who have a large number of followers on Twitter or likes on Facebook or maybe have a very popular blog or video show. These individuals will be featured in our July 2018 edition, which has a special focus on Social Media.

MAY 2018 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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Get MORE with Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions. Š Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC NMLS #1160240, Corporate office, 980 Hammond Drive, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA, 30328. This communication is sent only by Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC and is not intended to imply that any of our loan products will be offered by or in conjunction with HUD, FHA, VA, the U.S. government or any federal, state or local governmental body. This is a business-to-business communication and is intended for licensed mortgage professionals only and is not intended to be distributed to the consumer or the general public. Each application is reviewed independently for approval and not all applicants will qualiffyy for the program. Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC is an Equal Opportunity Lender and does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, other classifications protected under Fair Housing Act of 1968. MS172_0118